The Body Language of a Lie

My son has recently been watching episodes of the show Lie to Me. He’s fascinated by body language, and all the little “tells” that give people away when they’re not being fully honest. And I admit, it’s interesting.

Did you know there are fairly typical patterns of avoidance used when someone is being confronted about a lie?

There are. For real. And even more interesting, They’re patterns I recognize from experience.

It’s a psychological thing. Much like the way people act when they have a crush on someone and don’t want anyone to know—except it’s really hard to hide. There are tells for that too.

The benefit to shows like this is that they remind us of all the ways our bodies can betray us. For authors, they give us great body language ideas, and patterns that can help move a plot forward, and fantastic motivation for turning moments in our stories.

So tell me. When was the last time someone lied to you, and how did you know they were lying? (You don’t have to use names or specifics.)