Big Gestures And Grimaces: The Signs That REALLY Help You Spot A Liar

Many of us believe that liars can’t or won’t look you in the eye - but it’s actually not true, and the telltale signs someone is lying are quite different.

Researchers used videos from criminal court cases where someone was known to be lying - and found that liars often DO maintain eye contact throughout.

The ‘tells’ which indicate someone is lying include wild gestures with both hands, grimaces, and a tendency to distance themselves from their story using words such as ‘he’ and ‘she’ rather than ‘I’.

Liars often use words such as ‘Um’ and ‘Er,’ the researchers found.

The University of Michigan researchers developed software based on the behaviours observed - which can pick out a liar with 75% accuracy.

Human volunteers only correctly identified liars in 50% of cases.

'People are poor lie detectors,' said Rada Mihalcea of the University of Michigan.

'This isn't the kind of task we're naturally good at.

'There are clues that humans give naturally when they are being deceptive, but we're not paying close enough attention to pick them up.

'We're not counting how many times a person says 'I' or looks up.

'We're focusing on a higher level of communication.'