Some people seem cursed to look dishonest even if they’ve never lied in their life. You may be one of them. Do you notice people eying you dubiously or muttering something as you walk off? Then beware the body language of lying. It could be ruining your relationships.
You may be wondering, “How can a completely honest person give off lying body language?”
The answer is that there is no such thing as lying body language; at least, there is no body language which is unique to lying, nor which proves a person is lying. Though many sites will perpetuate the myth that there are guaranteed ways of spotting lies, this is know to be inaccurate.
Lying body language is really stress or insecurity body language. The idea is that when people lie they feel more stress than when telling the truth. Of course, this isn’t 100% accurate. Some people don’t feel much stress at all when they lie and some people feel stressed when speaking even if they’re 100% truthful (shy people, for instance). This is why people who are nervous are often mistaken for being dishonest. It’s also an example of how the body language of lying can give people a negative impression of you even when you’re 100% honest.
So, what can you do to avoid this communication pitfall? There are two ways to approach this problem. The first is to become confident when speaking. Naturally, you’ll show a lot less lying / nervous body language signals when you are confident. You’ll stop fidgeting, your gaze will be more focussed and relaxed, your hands more expressive (our hands freeze when we become nervous). This is one way to solve the problem, but even this does not guarantee you to avoid all lying body language signals. If you really want to be seen as honest, you need to learn the body language of lying in order to avoid it. Thankfully, you can do that right here: The Body Language of Lying.