How to Be a Human Lie Detector (Infographic)

Figuring out if someone is lying is much easier than you think. And with a few quick tips, you’ll be well on your way to spotting a lie.

Darrin Klimek | Getty Images

Related: Use This Secret Military Trick to Tell if Someone Is Lying

For starters, it’s important to understand how people communicate. And it be might a shock to learn that communication is less about the words that come out of a person’s mouth and more about the tone of their voice and their body language. Identifying a liar’s “micro-expressions,” which are a person’s involuntary facial expressions, is the best way to catch a liar. In fact, this is a strategy used by the CIA. How do you notice these micro-expressions? There are seven universal human emotions: sadness, anger, contempt, disgust, surprise, fear and happiness. When a person’s initial facial expressions seem off and forced, that’s a sure sign they’re not telling the truth.

Related: 3 Scientifically-Proven Ways to Spot Liars in Your Emails

Along with facial expressions, reading a person’s body language can help you determine if they’re lying. Typically, liars are pretty fidgety and they’ll do things like touch their nose, adjust their clothes and rub their eyes. You can also find them pursing their lips, focusing their eyes down and to the right and turning their body away from you. And when it comes to speaking, if you hear a person making speech errors, talking fast or trying to use complex words, these could also mean they’re fibbing.

To learn more, check out Truthfinder’s infographic below.