Physical Indicators

• Closed forms of body language such as folded arms or crossed legs can indicate that a person is trying to create a wall of protection around themselves to hide a falsehood. If your subject avoids eye contact and shows visible signs of stress while providing their answers or telling their story, they may be lying. Liars may also show brief glimpses of their true feelings like a frown or scowl even while doing their best to hide them. The ability to focus on and read these indicator can be an accurate way to judge statements as true or false says psychologist Paul Eckman of San Francisco. Self grooming, fidgeting and other self conscious gestures can all be indicators of false statements, while open hands and an open posture likely indicates truth.
  
  

Spoken Indicators

• According to UCLA Psychology Professor R. Edward Geiselman, people who are lying will send out verbal clues. These clues may include short and basic statements which leave out any detail so as not to trip themselves up if it is referred to again later. Liars may also explain their statements without being asked to do so. Watch for stalling techniques like a pause before answering, the use of fillers like "ummm" or the repetition of questions prior to responding. A similar technique is that of slowed speech which also provides the subject with more time to create a story as well as indicating caution in a response. The uncertain use of third person pronouns instead of "I" can indicate that a person is attempting to distance themselves from their own statement, and phrases like "to be honest" should also be noted.
  
  

Reading People

• Liars will often react according to the situation in which they find themselves. Learning to read the mood and the feelings of a person can help to reveal their falsehoods. Listen to the story carefully and with a ear towards catching a lie. Many people wish to hear the truth or give the benefit of the doubt to liars, thus enabling them to get away with it.
  
  

Telephone Use

• Telephones and oral conversations in general may lead to more lies than any form of written communique. The knowledge that no record is being kept and that statements may only be referred to as hearsay may free people into lying more often than they would otherwise. According to Cornell University associate communications professor John Hancock, the telephone is a great enabler of lies as it provides no written proof of the conversation while providing an anonymous connection without face to face contact.
  
  

Establish a Control

• Making your subject comfortable in your conversation is an important part of establishing a starting point from which to judge the rest of his statements. Starting with everyday chitchat which does not require a protective false statement can help to create a control against which the behavioral changes associated with lying can be compared.