No matter whether you are a team member or boss, it is important to know when someone is lying to you. At the workplace, this might prove to be a game-changer. Here are a few best ways to spot a liar at work. Read on!
Table of contents:
- Delayed response
- Escaping from eye-contact
- Excessive nose-touching
- Giving a fake smile
- Unnecessary details
- Verbal cues
1. Delayed response
If you ask an unexpected question to someone and they take a very long time in giving a proper response, this could mean that they are trying to cook up an answer. This is one of the most common traits of liars when they’re telling a lie.
2. Escaping from eye-contact
Perhaps the biggest giveaway of liars is the tendency to avoid eye contact when they are lying. If you find your team member or employee escaping from eye contact when they are talking to you, it might be a sign that they are telling a lie.
3. Excessive nose-touching
Many studies have found that when a person is lying, they tend to touch the base of their nose more. This is one of the signs a person is lying to you. Lip-biting and head-scratching are other tell-tale signs.
More: 8 Reasons Why Lying Is a Bad Idea
4. Giving a fake smile
When you smile genuinely, your whole face lights up too. Your forehead, eyebrows, eyes, cheekbones, everything changes with a smile.
But when you give a fake smile, you just make your mouth smile. If someone is trying to fool you, they may give a fake smile just to hide the lie. So take it as a warning sign.
5. Unnecessary details
If you ask a simple question and a person gives an unnecessarily long answer, it is one of the signs of lying. The person might feel the need to justify their actions and they can try hard to make you believe in what they are saying. So this could lead to a number of pointless details.
6. Verbal cues
There are some verbal cues to determine whether a person is lying or not. If a person changes their tone as they speak to you or if a person starts rambling and stammering, they are definitely lying to you. Selective wording is another verbal cue wherein someone tries to avoid certain questions.
Do you know any other ways to spot a liar at work? Share them, please.1