How to Pick Out Liars by their Hands
August 8, 2007 – 1:57 pm | by Carl Zetterlund
Please read the first body language post here for an introduction.
One of the most powerful ways to pick out a liar is with their hand gestures. Human beings absolutely love to lie and start doing so at a very early age. There is one hand gesture that actually slowly shifts as you grow, and it’s a powerful indicator to use to pick out a liar.
Children are incredibly honest. It is only as they grow older and more accustomed to society that they begin to start lying. Society tells us that certain behaviors are inappropriate. Some examples are stealing, sex, and plain rudeness. When the children gets older, the child starts the realize the benefits of telling the truth and of course… lies. When faced with the decision to either get punished or get away, the child will naturally attempt to get away. This usually involves lying.
The child subconsciously does a remarkable thing. He or she will take both hands and cover his or her mouth after lying. It is quite obvious to most parents. As the child grows older, the child is more aware of their own behaviors and starts to restrict bodily gestures. However, the subconscious force is quite powerful as you will see.
The same gesture will actually stay with the person throughout their life. However, the gesture is done in a slightly different way. For example, a teenager will place only one hand to the side of their mouth like they are scratching an itch there. Then, it slowly becomes what we commonly see everywhere.
The adult will start touching his or her nose with the top of a finger to make it look like they are scratching their nose. The imaginary “itch” is usually under the nose and near the mouth. When I think about, I used to do this if I was uncomfortable speaking with another person. In these situations, people tend to bend the truth or blatantly lie. Then the gesture serves to alleviate the stress or feelings of lying.
The amazing part is that we do not consciously realize this as a human being. The fact that we can gradually shift an obvious gesture into a deceiving one is pretty darn amazing. The silly things we do as humans. Keep in mind that a clever person should be able to spot this out. That means you.
The next time you talk to someone. Pay attention to their hands. If they go for that nose itch, pay close attention to what the person is saying and the context of the situation. I’ll elaborate more on context on another post, as it is incredibly important. After all, the person may actually have an itchy nose.
Tell me your experiences.
Carl Zetterlund
P.S. I learned this information in an amazing book called The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara Pease. Alan Pease is by far the leader in teaching body language and has written one of the most insightful books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Click here now to buy from Amazon
