Under- and Overstatements
Since untruths come flying from the mouth, you might wonder if this orifice has some instinctual reaction to being the instrument of deception. Do the lips curl at the edges, for example, when an untruth is forced from the mouth? Does the tongue shrivel up or hang out slightly? Do the liar’s teeth instantly turn an unflattering shade of yellow?
Unfortunately, the nonverbal mouth cues that indicate lying aren’t that easy to spot, but if you know what to look for, you might just be able to hone in on a few subtle movements.
Loose Lips
One of the most interesting things liars do is let their mouths run wild. This is actually a verbal cue, but it’s worth mentioning. Shakespeare wrote, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks”—and that pretty much says it all.
When someone reacts to a relatively small inquiry by prattling on and on and on, it’s obviously an attempt to convince you of his innocence, the rationale being that anyone who takes the time to defend himself vigorously against a minor accusation must be full of moral character and therefore deeply offended by the suggestion that he’s done anything wrong.
If a person shakes his head “yes” while he’s saying “no,” or shakes his head “no” while he’s saying “yes,” he’s fibbing to you—or at least he’s trying to. His conscience is fighting his best attempts to deceive you by allowing the movement of his head to let you in on the truth.
How might this play itself out? If Dick escapes your office without being forced to admit his guilt, he might bring up the incident later in the day in an attempt to showcase the ridiculousness of the situation. Why, he doesn’t even like doughnuts! You know, the last time he had a doughnut was in 1995, and he hasn’t had the urge to even taste one since. In fact, he refuses to buy doughnuts for his kids!
And hey—it’s not just doughnuts. Dick doesn’t like sweets in general. He won’t eat cake, ice cream, candy, anything with refined sugar, and, certainly, he’s sworn off fried foods, which totally precludes him from the list of doughnut-biting suspects. He still can’t believe you thought it was him, but he’s got to hand it to you—it was pretty funny, especially since he’s the last person in the world who would bite into a pastry. You think Dick doth protest too much?
In his attempt to get the lie out of his mouth quickly and correctly, he might trip over the words—sometimes, his spoken words will be out of order, an indication that he’s been practicing his lie and his nervousness made him get it all wrong.
Pitch Imperfect
There are other vocal cues that indicate a person isn’t being totally forthcoming, and they’re all side effects of tension. The tone of his voice might be off—usually, nervous pitch is somewhat higher than his normal timbre.
A rub to or around the mouth indicates that this person is unsure of what she’s telling you.
Another little tic that plagues liars: excessive throat clearing or coughing. Now, if the accused is suffering from some sort of respiratory infection, this cue is obviously not very helpful for determining his state of anxiety. But if he’s been healthy right up to the moment when you asked him whether he took a big old bite out of your doughnut and then he’s suddenly seized by an attack of a dry throat … one of two things may be happening. Either his anxiety has actually caused his throat to feel tight and dry or he’s using this as a sort of diversion. If he can’t talk, he can’t really answer you, now, can he?
When a liar crosses her arms, they’re pulled tightly to the body.
Keeping the Lie In
Liars are anxious underneath their calm exteriors. They don’t want to be found out, and the size of the lie doesn’t really matter. Getting caught in a small lie is almost worse than being apprehended for a major untruth because it’s those tiny fibs that make people wonder why you’d lie about such a silly thing in the first place.
Meanwhile, the big lies (about whether, say, you misplaced $4 million of the corporate office’s money) actually have a purpose—you’re protecting yourself from major consequences. That’s not to say that you should lie in these situations. The truth will set you free—if not from prison time, then from the anxiety that will haunt you and display itself in your behavior.
Speaking of which … Nervous behavior can exhibit itself in the areas in and around the mouth. Compressing or biting the lips may be a subconscious attempt to keep the words in the mouth. The tongue show (a little peek of the tongue, which almost looks as though the speaker is licking his lips) is a sign of uncertainty, a way of indicating that the person doesn’t really know if what he’s saying is true or untrue. Some liars will smack their lips repeatedly, which is just another exhibition of the nervous energy they’re trying so hard to hide from you.
