Microexpression
A facial expression lasting a fraction of a second; the result of voluntary and/or involuntary emotional response
One-sided shrug
Lack of confidence in one’s own words
Contempt
One-sided nose scrunch and tightening/raising of the lip
Eye contact
They don’t always look away when they lie. Sometimes people over-compensate with more eye contact, they need to watch to see if you believe their lies
Averting eyes
Can also mean looking away to recall a real memory
Rigid repetition is typical of a lie
Answering a question with the exact words they were asked
(can also be used as a stalling tactic)
Oblique eyebrows
Sadness
Chin tuck
Embarassment
Nose erectile tissue
Can itch and/or become engorged from stress or arousal, not just from lying
Gestural slip
Brief, unintentional body movement that leaks information someone is trying to conceal, contradicting their spoken words
Distancing language
Using language to create psychological separation from the self and a topic, idea, identity, etc
(passive voice, avoiding first-person pronouns, deflecting, minimizing, omission of detail, euphemisms, particular use of proximal and distal demonstratives)
Telling a story backwards
Liars rehearse their stories in order. When lying, it’s hard to tell a story backwards because there is no real memory of what happened
Deep shame
Can involve looking down, lowering head, avoiding eye contact, slumping shoulders, contracting the body
Smiling
Genuine smiles show wrinkles in the corner of the eyes
Gestural emblem
Nonverbal signal with a specific, direct verbal meaning understood within a culture, acting as a word to replace speech
Fight or flight response
Blood flows from extremities to brain, heart, lungs, and muscles in arms, chest, and legs in order to prepare to run; hands get cold first
Ava Loreimy 