How to spot a liar in seconds using nonverbal cues

• For an effective work environment, teams need to trust each other — and lying doesn't help.
• Learning to read nonverbal communication can help you catch a liar and give you an edge in business.
• Look for clusters of out-of-the-ordinary gestures, like face flushing, sweating, and fidgeting.

Telling lies in professional settings leads to a myriad of troubles in the workplace. For an effective work environment, teams need to trust each other and build relationships built on honesty and the common goal of achieving the best results on the job.

However, there will always be colleagues, clients, potential hires, and executives who don't tell the truth. It'd be great to have a magic wand that could tell you who's lying and who isn't, but that isn't an option.

Luckily, there are other ways to understand if someone is less than honest with you and your company. The following signs don't even require words and are all nonverbal queues.

What is nonverbal communication?

Nonverbal communication includes the many ways we communicate without words. For example, facial expressions are a code or signal that reflects how a person feels from moment to moment.

Microexpressions are facial expressions that happen quickly. They're a natural reaction to an involuntary situation and a way to gauge the true authentic emotions that others are experiencing.

"When people try to conceal how they're feeling, the expression is reduced in time from a few seconds to a fraction of a second — one-tenth of a second — so brief you can miss it if you blink," said psychologist and author Paul Ekman. "Most people don't recognize the emotions shown in these micro-expressions. But people can learn to see them. Learning to read facial expressions gives you an edge in business because it allows you to communicate more effectively with business partners."

Another form of nonverbal communication is body language. This involves the ways you move your body, including unconscious movements. It isn't uncommon for our bodies to communicate something our words aren't.

For example, arms crossed in front of the chest are usually a sign of defensiveness. Crossing legs may indicate that someone is needing privacy or is closed off. Sitting back too far shows disinterest, while leaning forward shows interest.

Detecting liars

Do you ever feel like someone is not being honest with you? Maybe you can't explain it in words, but you have a gut feeling that something isn't quite right. Chances are, you're correct. Most likely, you're subconsciously aware of changes in the person's nonverbal communication.

David Matsumoto is an expert in microexpressions, gestures, nonverbal behavior, culture, and emotion. He said that to get good at detecting lies, you need to observe people.

Matsumoto teaches that when your body language and nonverbal communication are congruent, the words you speak have a much higher value. Conversely, when your nonverbal communication isn't congruent with your words, people tend to disregard spoken words and focus on body language.

Research also shows that when people lie, they experience negative emotions because they know they're lying. They'll automatically feel some contempt, whether it's towards themselves or for the situation that's forcing them to lie.

People also lie to protect themselves or someone else from being punished. In some cases, they lie to avoid an embarrassing or uncomfortable situation or boost self-worth in the eyes of others.

All of these reasons to lie have a clear reason and purpose. They all are also emotionally driven. Human emotions are impossible to hide completely and will be displayed nonverbally in some form (unless you are dealing with a psychopath or sociopath).

When you think someone is being dishonest, try observing them for emotional incongruence. Discomfort can manifest in many ways, including anger, contempt, disgust, fear, and sadness. Stress can also indicate lying, and the emotion releases adrenaline. Adrenaline provides more energy to the limbs, which may result in fidgeting.

It's also useful to look for out-of-the-ordinary gestures. Often these will come in "clusters," meaning two or more nonverbal gestures that signify distress. They could be as simple as a facial tick, a shoulder raise, or a brow wrinkle. Once you learn how to identify discomfort better, it's much easier to glimpse someone's inner world.

Keep in mind that there's no foolproof or universal signal demonstrating dishonesty. There are a few nonverbal signs that when in a cluster, could mean that the truth is not being upheld. These signs may include:

Don Weber is a business communication trainer with a background in human behavior, psychology, and meditation.