By now, you’ve probably dealt with people who have a challenging time telling the truth. While they may have the best of intentions, they can’t seem to be honest. These are the most difficult folks to deal with because once you learn to lie to cover your tracks, the lies seem to snowball out of control.
The last thing you want is to be in a relationship with someone who can’t be honest. If you have good senses and listen to your inner voice, you’re undoubtedly suspicious of them by now. Telling lies comes easy to some, so you need to be on guard to protect yourself.
Fifteen Suspicious Actions That May Reveal a Liar
Can you spot a sneaky liar? Do you know how to sense their negativity and know their lying right through their teeth? If not, here is a list of suspicious behaviors that indicate that someone is less than truthful with you.
1. Counter Accusations Are Suspicious, as a Liar Might Try to Gaslight You
Should you confront a person with your suspicion that they’re lying, they may try to turn it around on you. For instance, if you ask them if they’re cheating on you, they will counter with a statement that you’re the one cheating and you have a guilty conscience. It’s not uncommon for an untruthful person to blame anyone and everyone else for avoiding their sins coming to the forefront.
2. An Unblinking Stare Might be Suspicious
One of the sure signs that someone is being untruthful is that they’re not blinking. Blinking is a natural part of your body to flush your eyes, and according to Healthline, you should blink around 15-20 times each minute. When they stare at you coldly without blinking, it’s a sign that they’re being dishonest.
Additionally, someone that blinks constantly is displaying signs of distress or anxiety. A person afraid of being caught in their lie would blink more so than the sociopath who has mastered the art of deception, and it doesn’t faze them.
3. Frozen Like a Deer in the Headlights
Most people use somebody’s body language when they speak. Please pay attention to people next time you’re deep in conversation and learn their body mannerisms. When the subject matter is light and casual, most individuals don’t use as many gestures.
However, when someone is dishonest, their movements are subconscious and become more profound. On the other end of the spectrum is those folks who freeze in fear. They stand like a deer in a headlight that knows their demise is soon to follow. This person is afraid you’re suspicious of them, and they’re in danger.
4. A Blushed Response
How many times have you blushed when your emotions get the best of you? Blushing is a normal response to an emotional situation, and it’s an indication that anxiety levels are rising. People blush over the simplest things, like when someone tells them they’re pretty or feel butterflies in their stomachs.
However, for someone being dishonest, the blushed response is likely due to being anxious that you’re close to uncovering their deception.
5. Sharing Too Much Information May Reveal Suspicious Behavior
When you ask a simple question, you want a simple answer. If someone goes into great detail telling you times, places, people, and all sorts of extras, you can almost ensure that they’ve taken the time to concoct the perfect lie. No one remembers such details unless they’ve made a point to recall these things.
6. Symbolic Stifling of Communication
When you think of ways to spot a liar, you probably haven’t considered that they may cover their mouth. Instinctively, someone who is worried that their words will give their deception away will cover the place where the lies originate. This action is also a sign that they don’t want to answer your questions as they might incriminate themselves.
Experts call this a stifling of communication because they try their best to avoid your interrogation. Additionally, they may not fully cover their mouth, but they may play with their lips using their fingers or chew on something too.
7. Develop a Sudden Stutter
Have you ever been nervous and become tongue-tied? It seems that every word you speak comes out jumbled due to your nerves. This speech pattern is a typical pattern observed with someone who isn’t being honest. They often try to talk too fast, and their nerves get in the way and cause the words to come out wrong.
Some people naturally talk fast, like those who suffer from attention hyperactivity disorder, but if a person usually is cool as a cucumber and is now stumbling, pay attention.
8. Animated or Theatrical Personality
How do you know if you have a liar on your hands? Well, it’s easy to see by their animated and sometimes theatrical actions. You can always tell when someone is stressed and anxious when they start waving their arms about, as this is suspicious behavior.
Some believe this is a subconscious sign that they’re preparing for a fight. Now, if someone typically has such dramatic behavior, it’s probably nothing concerning. The real problem is observed when these actions are out of the normal realm for this individual.
9. Protecting Their Vulnerable Points
When a person senses danger or feels backed into a corner, they prepare to come out swinging. An instinct built into each person naturally wants you to protect the most private susceptible parts of your body. For instance, a man may defend his genital region, while a woman may try to cover her neck with their hand.
10. They Duck the Question or the Topic
Have you ever asked someone a question, and they will change it around to an entirely different subject and change the topic? They’re using avoidance tactics because they don’t want to answer what you’ve asked of them. This is very suspicious, and they may be trying to avoid you finding out the truth.
11. Memory Complications
Sudden memory complications can strike anyone, but if this person suddenly has a case of amnesia without an accident, they’re likely telling you a whopper. This is, no doubt, another chance for them to come up with a highly polished lie.
12. Repeating the Question
When someone asks you to repeat the question, it might be because they need time to get their story straight. You will commonly see this tactic in a courtroom when someone doesn’t know what or how to answer a question. They heard you correctly the first time in most instances, but they need a few seconds to gather their thoughts.
You might be shocked to learn that this tactic develops primarily during childhood, but a professional liar never drops this little trick they learned.
13. Changes in Breathing
A study was conducted by the University of Otago and reported on Medical Express. They state that someone experiencing moderate levels of anxiety will experience variations in blood oxygenation and flow.
You may see someone who is deceptive breathing fast, or they may slow their breathing down dramatically. Any changes in breathing are suspect, especially when it happens while they’re being asked for answers.
14. Curious Verbal Problems Might Be a Sign of Suspicious Behavior
Sudden verbal problems can also be a sign that someone is deceptive. They may display issues like stuttering, repeating the exact words over, and having difficulty making a complete sentence. These peculiar verbal problems suspect that the person isn’t being honest, and their anxiety makes communication challenging.
15. Exhibiting Jerky Movements
When you notice a person showing jerky movements, it’s a sign their anxiety is in overdrive. They may do things like moving their limbs quickly or dart their eyes back and forth. If they have keys or spare change in their pocket, they may toss it around the entire time you talk.
You can always tell that someone is worried that their deceptions will be uncovered. All you need to do is observe their body language and jerky movements, which indicate an anxious nature.
Final Thoughts on Understanding the Suspicious Behaviors of a Liar
If you want to catch someone deceptive, you might want to use the old proverb that reminds you that it’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar. When you come out swinging like a lion ready to pounce, you’re probably not going to get very far with someone dishonest. The common interrogation tactics don’t work with everyone.
Most people will respond much better if you sit down and calmly discuss things with them. Whether you’re in the middle of a heated argument or trying to be civilized, you’ll likely see some of the behaviors listed above come out. A habitual or pathological liar will resort to tactics like gaslighting to get the blame shifted from them to you, while this isn’t the only scheme they’ll use.
If you’re suspicious of someone’s behavior and think they might be dishonest with you, the chances are that they’re being deceptive. Always trust your gut instincts and do your detective work to ensure you uncover the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You might be pretty shocked at what you find.
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