Studies by behavioural psychologists and other sociology experts have come up with various ways that one can tell if someone is lying.
Surprisingly, some of these indicators are common to both men and women and are easily noticeable even to the untrained eye.
A sinking 'feeling' that someone is not being straight with you is a strong indication that your mind has already picked up the incoherent cues being presented and the feeling is the mind's way of raising a red flag.
Here are some of the simple cues that identify a liar.
1. They provide too much information and in other instances too many details.
2. When a person is lying, he/she has the paranoid view that you are already onto them so they feel the need to provide information that aligns just right to make you less suspicious.
3. The liar may also repeat phrases or words in a bid to convince you and themselves of the lie.
For example, they may repeat "I didn't...I didn't.." or "You believe me, don't you?"
5. Someone who is lying also displays certain body language cues such as covering the mouth, throat and other vulnerable body parts such as the head and the abdomen.
6. Intelligence experts say that these signs reflect defensiveness and a desire to literally keep themselves from telling the truth or speaking any further.
7. Due to the natural fight or flight instinct, when telling a lie, one experiences an elevated breathing rate as he/she prepares to defend themselves.
Those are some of the simple ways adapted from behaviouralist Dr Lillian Glass' book, "The Body Language of Liars".
