How to Tell When Somebody’s Lying to You

Common Patterns of Deception

Do you know how to tell when somebody’s lying to you? Countless devices have been invented over the years to try to pick out a liar. This includes polygraph tests, voice analyzers, eye trackers, and extravagant machinery.

Are any of these heavy-duty pieces of equipment essential to determine whether someone is telling the truth or not? Here’s how to determine whether or not somebody’s lying to you.

Linguistic Studies
These devices collect the physiological data of the testee. However, they don’t perform as consistently as the techniques developed by communications scientists.

Not every liar is under physical distress when telling a fib. Because of this, it’s essential to have a more well-rounded way of observing the accuracy of a tall tale. This is why linguists have taken the time to pick apart the patterns of a compulsive liar.

Common Patterns of Deception
To better understand the language of a liar, linguistic experts have identified four critical factors of a deceptive statement. These are subconscious patterns that happen when someone isn’t telling the whole truth:

Avoiding First-Person Language
To distance themselves from the lie they’re telling; people will often try to avoid saying statements that include first-person language such as “I” or “me.” They might not notice that they’re doing it, but it dramatically affects how their lie comes across.
Negative Statements
Most people feel a pang of guilt when they find themselves in the middle of a lie. Because of this, somebody concealing the truth will likely use more negative words when giving an untruthful excuse.
Simple Terminology
Scientists have discovered that our minds struggle to formulate a lie using complex language. When you’re listening to a lie, it will often sound like a pretty black-and-white story without much complication.
Excessively Long Explanations
Liars must justify what they’re saying with a reasonable, thoughtful explanation. However, they tend to get a little wordy and give away their nervousness over what they’re saying by saying too much.