Psychology
“What are subtle signs someone is lying to you in a relationship?”
I am not good at mind games because I find it difficult to determine if someone is lying to my face. But I did some research and found out that there are verbal and nonverbal cues to watch out for.
The nonverbal signs:
- They either avoid eye contact or they make too much.
Tricky, isn’t it? How would you even know which action tells you they’re lying?
Well, notice the movements of their eyes as they speak. A person avoids eye contact when he’s not telling the truth. But contrary to this old belief, some go above and beyond to make others believe them. Some people overcompensate by giving you too much eye contact.
If they do both, try to look for more signs like the ones stated next.
- They give you microexpressions.
Microexpressions are facial expressions that show the real emotions of a person. This will reveal their true intentions. A liar may flash a brief expression that contradicts their words, so be careful.
Expressions such as sudden fear, anger or sadness encompass these.
- Their body language while speaking.
Observe how they handle their physical posture while talking to you. You can look for actions like fidgeting, shifting weight from foot to foot, crossing their arms, or excessively touching their face.
If you still haven’t seen these signs in them, you might be talking to someone who is either genuinely telling the truth or a pro manipulator.
The verbal signs:
- Inconsistencies in their statements.
Inconsistencies in statements are like having multiple routes for one train. Confusing, deceiving, unclear.
The discrepancies in their stories will tell you directly how much they lie. Stories that may sound surreal and beyond the known fact? That’s one sign.
- Vocal changes.
Have you noticed someone suddenly sounding high pitched, or clearing their throat before explaining? That’s bad.
If you’re not hiding something, you’d absolutely deal with the situation calmly and naturally.
- Evasiveness.
Vague responses may take you somewhere unreal.
When they try to avoid the conversation by shifting to a new topic, or if they respond to you with vague words.
That could also be a sign they haven’t composed their best alibi yet.
Just a reminder, be careful when it comes to passing judgment or accusing people without tangible proof. Even though research suggests these can be signs of dishonesty, I believe that these are not absolute indicators. Because in reality, even genuine people also get confused and at times imperfectly display these signs.
Dishonesty isn’t something that should be tolerated. It’s an act of disrespect to you as a partner and as a person. If tangible proof shows they’ve been disrespecting you too much, consider leaving or cutting the connection.
Source: Quora
