7 ways to legitimately spot a liar, as told by an FBI profiler

In order to provide a credible source for this article, Guyism turned to former FBI profiler Noah Boyd [pseudonym] to give us a real look at how you can spot someone lying from a series of obvious tells. Feel free to try them on friends, enemies, and Tiger Woods. Mr. Boyd will also be allotting us three copies of his new book The Bricklayer to give away to you..more on this after the article.

In my experience, there are no standardized “tells” that prove you’re being lied to. What the investigator tries to do is find, or cause, anomalies, those tiny deviations from the norm that indicate that a person’s veracity is suspect. Most commonly used is the examination of the information given, but it can also be a physical manifestation, such as a tic in the individual’s voice, a facial clue, or even body movement. I was once able to help solve a kidnapping/homicide because my experience told me that the person I was interviewing was being too polite. It is generally thought that these observable variations are caused by an emotional reaction to lying, and even worse, being caught.

Some of the following signals are more telling than others:

Slips of the tongue
The mind is distracted with creating the next lie, or considering the fragility of the one just told.

Hesitation before answering
This means the person is considering any flaws in the deception about to be offered

Forced facial expressions, such as smiling too long
Done in order to convince the interviewer of their lack of worry.

Change in the rate of blinking or in the pitch of one’s voice
An uncontrollable reaction to guilt or the worry of being discovered.

Eyes that divert when the interviewer stares into them after a difficult question
Indicates worry that the investigator is going to pick up some “window to the soul” signal.

Increased hand activity, like fiddling with an object on the table in front of them
This is emotion being turned into a physical need to relieve the stress of lying. Or, as I have seen:

Sitting on their hands because they become conscious of the movement being a tell

The best interviewers I have known are homicide detectives. After a few minutes with a suspect, they would mystically declare whether the person was lying or not. When asked how they knew, they rarely listed any of the above characteristics, but instead would say, “I just know.” They knew because first of all they had the ability to read people; it’s why they were chosen to work murders. And they have interviewed so many people that all those little tics and many more had become part of their “instincts.”

Again, each of these listed manifestations in itself is not a proof of deception, but if one is spotted, you may want to look for others.

To win a copy of Mr. Boyd’s new novel, The Bricklayer (in stores today), leave us a comment below telling your greatest lie ever told. Embrace your inner Lie to Me. Best three picked get the book. And if you make up a fake lie, we’ll know.

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