
Deception Tip 21:
When a target suggests the correct answer, a liarโs face will freeze for less than a split second, like a deer in the headlights. Eyes open and mouth in an โOโ shape.
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Podcast Transcript
Hello, and welcome to the Deception Tips Podcast, where you will learn amazing cues to detect deceit that will help you read people like never before. Iโm your host, Spencer Coffman. Letโs get started.
Welcome to episode 21 of the Deception Tips Podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Last time, we spoke about a great sign of deception that you can see. And, it was a huge myth that many people believe is incorrect.ย
So, when youโre watching people and detecting deception, watch out for increased eye contact. Liars often display increased eye contact so that they can watch the target believe the lie.
This is completely contradictory to popular belief that says that when people look people in the eye theyโre telling the truth. You know the statement, โLook me in the eye so I know youโre telling the truth.โ You may have even used it on your kids or someone else.ย
Or, you maybe have been said it to yourself. Someone may have said that to you and you had to look someone in the eye and tell them whatever. But, the point is that liars often do this because they want to watch the target believe the lie. That is their goal.
A liarโs purpose- their number one purpose- is to convince other people of their lie. Number two: they need to convince themselves of the lie so they can believe it. But, their goal is to be believed.ย
Thatโs why theyโre telling the lie in the first place. So, if they have the opportunity to watch the target believe the lie, they are going to take it. And, thatโs why they often display increased eye contact, to begin with.
However, if the target gives them permission to continue looking into their eyes, then they are golden because now they know that the target isnโt going to see anything else on their body. Or, at least very much less likely to see something on their body.ย
They are going to have them concentrate completely on their eyes where there are very minimal signs of deception. This is 21, and as I mentioned last time, weโve really only talked about one solid sign on the eye. Whereas most of these other signs are on the body and in other areas. So, pay attention to the entire field of vision.
I also gave you a little bit of a challenge last week to look someone in the eye for a period of five seconds- someone you werenโt in love with or are not in love with. It has to be someone else.ย
Hopefully, you tried that out and you will see that it is kind of a period of discomfort. Itโs something that is unnatural. We normally donโt hold direct eye contact for more than 30โ40 seconds. Usually, gazing that deeply into someoneโs eyes is not common behavior.
Most of the time, when people are speaking with one another, they work the entire field of vision. They look at their body, and their clothing. They watch their hands move, their gestures. They look around behind them, at other people. To the left, to the right.ย
They may look at their own hands or their watch. Things like that. People tend to look around the whole field of vision. They donโt only look straight into someoneโs eyes. Doing so is uncomfortable and unnatural. Therefore, when a liar does it, that is a huge sign of deception because itโs not normal. So, pay attention to increased eye contact.
Today, we are going to talk about a form of deception that is more of a strategy that you can use to watch and determine whether or not someone is lying or telling the truth. Weโre going to talk about the consequences of behavior and suggestions and get their opinion.ย
And, the reason this is so effective is that when you incorporate their input into the outcome, or into the stories, or into something else, they are going to slip up because now they think that they might be beating you.
They feel like you are listening to them. They feel like you might be believing them. This goes on with another story, or another time, that we talked about different strategies where you may suggest different stories to people with rehearsed stories, or give them things.
I talked about the Texas example where I was talking with a kid and then I mentioned, โOh. Iโve never been to Texas. Have you?โ And he said, โNo!โ and, that was how I caught them in a lie. Different things like that where you can bring up things and get them to kind of believe that you may be believing their story. Or, bring in things from their story. โSo, when you said you did x, y, z, then what happened?โย
Now they know that youโre listening to them and they know that you may be on the track to believing them, so theyโre going to continue talking. And, chances are, theyโll trip over their tongue and theyโll slip up.
So, today weโre going to talk more about those types of things. Things that you can do to enhance their story, and dig a little bit deeper, prod, and give them more opportunities to continue talking so that there are more chances of them displaying more behavioral signs of leakage, verbal signs of leakage, etcetera.ย
So, today, here it is. Deception Tip 21: When a target suggests the correct answer, a liarโs face will freeze for less than a split second. Like a deer in the headlights- eyes open and mouth in an โoโ shape. Here it is again. When a target suggests the correct answer, a liarโs face will freeze for less than a split second. Like a deer in the headlights- eyes open and mouth in an โoโ shape.
So, there are a number of components to this tip. Number one is the target is suggesting a correct answer. So, this is something where itโs a strategy AND itโs a direct sign of deception. You can suggest things to the target. Now, this isnโt like suggesting scenarios or stories. This is more of guessing an answer.
This is like, โOkay. Where are the keys hidden?โ So, theyโre lying saying, โOh yea. Well, I didnโt hide the keys.โ Or, โI hid them here.โ Or, โI did this.โ And, you might be looking at them saying, โAlright. Did you hide them in the mailbox?โ โDid you hide them in the drawer?โ โAre they on the counter?โ โAre they in (whatever)?โ โDid you put them in the fridge?โย
And, you suggest these different answers and watch their face. And now, their face- when you hit the right answer- you donโt know itโs the right answer, but they know where they hid the keys.
So, if letโs say the right answer is they put them in the mixing bowl on the counter and you may say, โAre they in the Kitchen Aid mixer?โ Boom! Their face freezes because theyโre caught in the lie. Like *gasp* and they freeze and now this is the next part they freeze for less than a split second.ย
Now, this is kind of confusing, and maybe a little bit redundant, but itโs done that way purposefully. Because, emotions, and micro-expressions, only happen in a fraction of a second.
Micro-expressions are like a quarter of a second or less. I mean it is VERY, very instant, split-second. So, this will happen for less than a split second. It is a very, very short period of time where they may take a sharp inhale, their mouth will freeze, and their mouth may open up a little bit in form of a surprise/fear blend emotion.ย
So, youโll see the eyebrow go up, the lower part of the eyelid goes down a little bit, youโll see the whites of the eyes on both sides of their pupil and iris there, and youโll be able to see that. But itโs very, very brief.
In addition, their mouth, will kind of open in an โoโ shape. So, surprise is an expression where the jaw just kind of drops open and that is, like an oblong shape. This is more like an โoโ shape as in like surprise. Like someoneโs like, โoh.โ So, itโs more rounded.ย
Now, weโre going to talk a lot more about this, and a lot more about how this is displayed, and how you can elicit this, or solicit this, reaction and response when youโre questioning people coming up after this.
How would you like to really know what every body is saying? Understanding body language can help you in your career, your relationships, and everyday interactions. Get Spencer Coffmanโs A Guide to Deception online today.
Suggesting answers is a very, very popular tactic when it comes to lie detection and deception detection. Interrogators use it all the time where they put people in chairs and they stand over them with a map and theyโre trying to find the location of something.ย
They run their finger over things. They watch peopleโs reactions to hone in on certain areas. Or, they have lists of names and, as they read off the names, they watch them. Or, as they scroll their finger down the names they watch the personโs reaction. Itโs in a lot of tv shows. Itโs a very popular interrogation technique.
Now, in the tv and movies, they make it seem a lot easier than it really is. Itโs not simply quickly running your finger down a long list of names and then all of the sudden stopping on the correct one when the guy held his breath. No. Itโs more than that.ย
Itโs a lot more than that and it usually takes a few times to find the right one. Itโs the same with guessing the cards in a deck. I love this trick. Itโs very great. If you can get good at reading people, itโs an awesome trick for parties, or gatherings, or things like that. I used to do it all the time. Itโs really quite fun.
What you do is you take- you donโt even need a deck of cards, but itโs more fun with a deck of cards- and you tell the person, โPick a card.โ And, they donโt even need to pick a card. They just think of a card. Then go through- โIs it Red? Black? Red? Black?โย
Pretty soon, youโll be able to watch them. โOk. High card is 8 and above. Low card is 7 and below. Ace is counted as a low card.โ Go through. Ok, โIs it high or low? High or low?โ and you can watch their expressions, their thought process, their body and see. Ok, what are they doing? When I say โhigh,โ are they reacting or โlowโ are they reacting? And then you can choose. โWell, ok. It must be a high card.โ
Alright so, letโs start at 8 and you just count right up! โ8? 9? 10? Jack? Queen? King?โ Then see how they go. โOk. It might be this.โ So, now you know. โAlright, itโs a black, high card and it was like a Jack/King/Queen area.โ So, now go over. โJack? Queen? King?โย
Figure out which one it might be. If youโre still not sure. Alright, you know itโs black. โIs it a spade or is it a club? Spade or club? Spade or club?โ Ok, itโs a club. Alright, Jack? Queen? King? โOk. Itโs the Jack.โ Boom! โHow did you do that?โ You watched their reactions!
This is a very popular one because, oftentimes, when you guess the correct answer, they may freeze for a split second. They may pause. Their mouth may go open in an โoโ shape. โOH!โ Most of the time when people get caught, or when people crash, or when things happen that are surprising and instant, their common reaction is โOhย โฆ!โ And, you can fill in the blank. Itโs a four-letter word. It starts with an โS.โ But, that is the big reaction.
Anytime, if youโve ever been in a car accident if youโve ever gone in a ditch, what is the first thing that went through your mind? Likely, thatโs what it was. It is very, very popular, in fact, in a lot of airline crashes and recordings, that is the last thing that the black box, or whatever, records before theyโre about to crash, during simulators, etcetera. Any of that.ย
Itโs a very popular phrase when people get caught or when people make a mistake and they know it. So, thatโs about what it is. And, you can watch these people when youโre guessing these things and see that precursor right on their face. That surprise was right on their face.
So, itโs a great technique to use. Now, of course, there will be more signs. These signs will come after this. This is more of a micro-expression. Itโs a split second. Itโs something that happens in an instant. And, as I said, you may have to do it several times. โRed? Black? Red? Black?โ Say it several times because, oftentimes, maybe the first time you miss it, or maybe they didnโt display it, or maybe they didnโt hear you. There could be a variety of reasons.
So, the more you do that- or if you have a list of names youโre trying to get. โWhich name did you- which politician did you bribe?โ And you have a list of names and youโre trying to get it from somebody.ย
Now, youโre probably not going to be trying to get that information from somebody, but maybe itโs โWhich kid is the bully thatโs beating you up at school? Is it Jack? Or is it Joe? Or is it this guy? Or this guy? Or this guy?โ And, they may not want to tell you.ย
But, through that, you could do it- especially with the children because theyโre more expressive. They havenโt learned how to control and hide those emotions as well as adults.
The longer we go through life, the better liars we become. Why? Because we practice a lot and we do it every single day. We may not do it maliciously every single day. But, you lie every single day. You probably lie at least ten times a day when you think about it. โHow are you doing today?โ โIโm good.โ Well, your dog just died. Youโre not good. Or, something like that.
Youโre sick. Your kid is home from school. You missed work. Whatever the case- or, โHow are things going?โ โThings are good.โ Well, youโre a hundred grand in debt from student loans. I wouldnโt call that good. Things like that. You lie all the time. โDid you like the food that grandma cooked?โ โYea. It was alright.โ No. It sucked.
There are different things that people do and itโs- oftentimes, itโs polite, social lies that occur. But, pay attention to how many times you say something that may, or may not, be true. It could be an untruth or a half-truth.ย
Thatโs still a lie. Now, it may not be malicious or destructive, but itโs still a lie nonetheless. Now, do I recommend you go around and say the truth all the time to everybody? No, because then youโll end up being like a jerk.
If someone says, โHow do you like my new haircut?โ โAw, I think thatโs the worst thing Iโve ever seen.โ Boy, thatโs not going to be very nice. But, if you say, โWell, itโs alright, but I liked your other haircut better.โย
Now youโve kind of told the truth but you didnโt insult them. Thatโs the big thing. If you just tell the straight truth all the time youโre going to be very insulting and very, very tough to be around. But, if you lie all the time, it would be the same thing. So, find that happy medium.
But, the point of this whole episode is you can watch things, and when you suggest different outcomes, and different scenarios, or different answers, watch peopleโs faces. Watch people freeze for a split second. This is a more advanced thing to spot, but with practice, you can see it.ย
Get a deck of cards. Try out that trick and practice. Practice. PRACTICE. Pretty soon youโll be able to do it right away. Youโll be able to read people and know what card they had by simply guessing and getting them to show different signs of body language and deception. Because there will be more than one sign.
This sign will probably be one of the first thatโll come out on them because it is a quick micro-expression. Eventually, youโll be able to see a lot more of these micro-expressions but just know, this will be one of the first. Then other signs will follow. So, if you miss it. Donโt worry. Watch for other signs. There will always be more than one sign.
I want to thank you for listening to this weekโs episode of the Deception Tips Podcast. I encourage you to share it with your friends, subscribe to the feed, check out the Deception Tips Blog, and take a look at the books I have available. And, as always, tune in next week for a new Deception Tip.
Video Transcript
Hey guys, my name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you for watching theย Deception Tips Videos. They are a hundred percent dedicated to teaching you how to detect deception so that you will be able to know if someone is lying to you.
Today, we are going to talk about a cool tactic that you can use to catch a liar and to not only catch a liar, but this is more when the liar is withholding information rather than telling or giving, or falsifying information. This is like when you are trying to seek the truth whether youโre trying to find out where someone hid something. Or maybe you could do it as a game, and you say, โokay, pick a number,โ and you try to figure out what number theyโre thinking of, or what car does thinking of, or where theyโve hidden your keys, whatever the case may be.
Or, if itโs something more serious like youโre a police officer when youโre trying to find where the drugs are hidden, or a bomb, or XYZ, it doesnโt matter. This is more when the lying of concealment, rather than lying of falsifying a story. So this is a great tactic that you can use, and it is about suggesting answers.
So here this is Deception Tip 21: When a target suggests the correct answer, a liarโs face will freeze for less than a split second, like a deer in the headlights. Eyes open and mouth in an โOโ shape.
Now, there is a lot to this tip, So Iโm gonna break it down real easily. So the first thing is when the target is suggesting answers. Now, this doesnโt mean that they are suggesting parts of the story for the liar to incorporate and then determine whether or not theyโre telling the truth, no. This is like when the target is more guessing or, coming up with possible answers to whatever they are trying to find.
So they may say, โyou know, is it at, where is it? At what church? Is it at this one, or this one, or is it here, or there? Is your number that youโre thinking of, is it an even number, or an odd number?โ And the liar is not answering these questions verbally. However, non-verbally, they will. And so if the liar is withholding this information, the target can start suggesting possible answers. What they think might be the truth, or what they think might be the correct answer, and the liar, their body will react to that, because they obviously know whatโs wrong and whatโs right.
And so, as the target is suggesting answers that are not correct, they may show contempt, or happiness, or something on their face. But when the target is suggesting a correct answer or gets closer to what the answer really is, then that liar may show fear, or contempt, or some type of a, they may be like surprised that the target actually got the right answer without the liar saying anything. In addition, they will freeze.
So this is important because typically when someone is guessing the answers and the liar will probably just kind of sit back, they may look cocky because they see that the target is barking up the wrong trail, they may show that kind of happiness, or enjoyment. Now it wonโt be jumping up and down happy, but itโll be on their face. Slight, quiet happiness.
Then as the target gets closer to the correct answer, or if itโs a list and the target is running their finger down the list, seeing which of the answers is correct or which of whatever is the one that they want, then the target will know by looking at the liar, and will see that the tension and the stress will become more and more. Itโs like itโs boiling up inside of them, and as soon as that right answer hits, then they will like, burst. And they will be surprised, like a deer in the headlights.
Theyโll freeze, and then in some cases, if the liar is really expressive, their mouth will drop open as in like a, itโs a prolonged or delayed surprise. Kind of like a. Like, you know, โyouโre not, youโre a, what are you, a codfish?โ type of a thing. Or, โclose your mouth, youโre not catching flies,โ because theyโll be surprised, theyโll be shocked. Now, typical surprise is really, really quick. Itโs less than a second. Itโs like, instant.
Whereas this type of surprise is more prolonged and delayed because they really canโt believe what is going on. They are, theyโre like, theyโre just in awe that they canโt figure out how that the target guessed the correct answer. But as always, there will be more than one sign.
So within this, you can look for the freezing, the deer-in-the-headlights, the mouth dropping open, but also pay attention to the precursor behaviors, such as enjoyment, or contempt, or happiness that might be going on within that liar as youโre going down the wrong path. And then watch for the aftermath. If you may have hit the correct answer and then get off of it, their behavior may change. So watch out for those patterns and those clusters of behavior as always.
If this is your first time watching these videos, I would love to have youย subscribe to the channel on YouTube. Feel free to leave any comments or questions on them as well. In addition, if youโd like some more information, weโveย got books,ย podcasts,ย blog posts, all available onย SpencerCoffman.comย that are dedicated to showing you exactly what every body is saying.
Until next time.