When people lie and they are confronted with evidence that contradicts those lies, they may change their story or deny the truth altogether. They may also try to manipulate others to maintain their false story. Blaming others for their lies. They may try to deflect blame or shift responsibility onto others.
Appearing anxious while talking. Getting defensive when confronted about a lie. Constantly changing their story or being vague when questioned. Lying about something even when there's no reason to.
Signs of Lying
Repeating questions before answering them. Speaking in sentence fragments. Failing to provide specific details when a story is challenged. Grooming behaviors such as playing with hair or pressing fingers to lips.
Making sweeping statements: "I would never" or "I always." Using non-specific language, generalized phrases and sweeping statements are common tactics for liars, who are trying to avoid giving hard facts and information.
Tarot card reader, Jeevika Sharna shares, “among all the Zodiac signs Aquarius, Gemini, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are counted in the category of filthy liars. They use lies as a tool to get things done in their way. These signs don't like when someone judges them or accuses them.
Sweating or dryness: Autonomic nervous system changes can trigger liars to sweat in the T-area of the face (upper lip, forehead, chin and around the mouth) or have dryness in the mouth and eyes — the person might excessively blink or squint, lick or bite their lips or swallow hard, according to Glass.
The direction of their eyes: A 2012 study published in Plos One debunked the myth people look to the left when lying. A study by the University of Michigan found when participants lied, they maintained eye contact 70% of the time.
Watch facial expressions When people are in the middle of a lie their facial expressions may show you. Look for flared nostrils, lip biting, rapid blinking or sweating. These changes in facial activity signify an increase in brain activity as a lie begins.
We lie to save face, to avoid hurting other people's feelings, to impress others, to shirk responsibility, to hide misdeeds, as a social lubricant, to prevent conflict, to get out of work, and many more reasons.
The narcissistic liar
This type of person never admits to making a mistake, even when the mistake could be a growth opportunity for your PR team. He or she is often a "people person" seeking attention when things go right, bragging or exaggerating accomplishments, while being quick to place blame and criticize others.
However, of the most common motives for telling lies, avoiding punishment is the primary motivator for both children and adults. Other typical reasons include protecting ourselves or others from harm, maintaining privacy, and avoiding embarrassment, to name a few.
Many NLP practitioners claim that a person's eye-movements can reveal a useful insight into whether they are lying or telling the truth. According to this notion, looking up to the right is indicative of lying whereas looking up to their left suggests that they are telling the truth.
Conventional wisdom has it that when people talk, the direction of their eye movements reveals whether or not they're lying. A glance up and to the left supposedly means a person is telling the truth, whereas a glance to the upper right signals deceit. However, new research thoroughly debunks these notions.
In three separate experiments, they tested whether people who lied tended to move their eyes up and to the right, more than people who were not lying. They found no association between which direction the eyes moved and whether participants were telling the truth.
“Someone who is overly passive or lacks judgment and experience is likely to fall prey to liars. The naïve personality type sees the world through simple lenses and believes others do the same,” Backe explains. “This means that then a lie is thrown their way, they often don't see it coming.”
The liar lacks the ability to consider what you might feel in response to their lie (which is empathy).
A pathological liar lies constantly to get what he wants, caring little for who gets hurt along the way. Considered a coping mechanism, pathological liars often exhibit other personality disorders. Words that describe a pathological liar are deceptive, manipulative and selfish.
Definitions of prevarication. the deliberate act of deviating from the truth. synonyms: fabrication, lying.