Paul Brian
You’d think it would be easy to tell if somebody you love is lying to you.
But that’s not always the case.
In fact, dishonest people often take advantage of somebody loving them in order to lie even more effectively.
If you’re in a relationship where you’ve started to suspect your partner is being dishonest, you may be asking yourself how you can be sure. You don’t want to make accusations without proof, and you don’t want to start an unnecessary fight.
But many things just aren’t adding up, and you’re looking for more signs that you’re being jerked around.
I’m going to take a look at the top body language signals that your partner in a romantic relationship isn’t coming clean with you. This is a way for you to help find out if your suspicions are well-founded.
1) They cover their mouth a lot
A dishonest partner will often cover his or her mouth, as if by instinct. If you think about it, this makes sense.
The mouth is where the lie comes from, and your partner wants to hold it in. The gesture of covering the mouth may be quite subtle, not always very obvious in the form of an open palm across the lips.
It could be holding their hand at the corner of their mouth or pretending to cough slightly or run their hand across their face while obscuring their mouth as well.
2) They purse their lips frequently
When you are conversing with your partner, you may notice that they frequently purse their lips. It is also as if they are trying to hold something in, which could well be the case.
Pursing of the lips is a general sign of determination, anxiety, or dishonesty.
If the context of what is being discussed is something that doesn’t seem likely to produce these reactions, then it is worth asking why your partner would be pursing their lips so often and reflexively.
3) They dodge eye contact
Individuals who are being honest often dodge eye contact.
Dishonesty is not the only reason for doing this of course, and it may be due to low self-esteem, shame, anxiety, or sadness.
However, if you are having a discussion or interaction which relates to something where you are asking for a straight answer from your partner and they keep avoiding eye contact, you should keep in mind that this may indeed be a telling sign of dishonesty.
4) They look up and away for a moment
One of these specific behaviors of a dishonest person who dodges eye contact is that they may look up and away for a short moment when you ask them something.
This is an instinctive way to gain themselves a second or two as if pondering your question, while in reality they are also composers composing and emotional reaction and an answer.
Looking up in a way can also be a form of acting as if they do not understand what you are talking about or they are needing for their clarification, which are actually just ways to buy more time to find a good lie to tell.
5) They betray suspicious microexpressions
Micro expressions are often overlooked small facial reactions that tell a lot about someone’s real emotional state.
Investigators and interrogators are trained to notice these, but most members of the public do not send to be this perceptive, or at least not attuned to watch for micro expressions.
However, if you do learn to watch for micro expressions, you will often be able to tell whether or not your partner’s first reaction to something matches what they officially say or act like in the immediate following reaction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0tFjWNYRkA
6) They orient their body away from yours
Earlier I wrote about avoiding eye contact and looking up and away from you as a sign of dishonesty.
It’s also true that a dishonest partner will often orient their body away from you as well.
This is an instinctive reaction of trying to avoid a confrontation or interaction.
It does not necessarily mean they are lying, however It certainly can.
7) They move a lot or not at all
A particularly rigid or frenetic posture is often a sign of dishonesty.
Granted, this can also be a sign of anxiety or depression.
However if you are having intense interactions with your partner or situations where you wonder if they are telling the truth, look for this sign:
They become extremely still like a mannequin or begin gesticulating wildly and acting very rapid and manic, there is a good chance that this behavior is related to a dishonesty or cover up on their part.
8) They fold in their head
Many body language behaviors originate in the animal kingdom. One of our deepest instincts as human beings is to respond to situations that are uncomfortable by fighting, fleeing, or freezing.
One of the instinctive ways to flee is to turn and walk away, and fighting is the instinct of arguing or moving into an aggressive posture.
But when it comes to freezing, tucking the neck in almost as if you are a turtle or shrinking the size and posture of the body is a way to try to avoid an interaction or answering something.
If your partner does this a lot they may be lying to you.
9) Slight shrug of one shoulder
Slightly shrugging one shoulder is a classic sign of dishonesty according to leading behavioral analysts such as American psychologist Paul Ekman.
The slight raising of one shoulder is often intended as a kind of casual dismissal, and a way to act relaxed.
In reality, however, it’s often a way to hide a lie or misleading statement.
Keep in mind this slight shrugging of one shoulder can often be together with looking up and away for a moment, a dishonest behavior I mentioned earlier.
10) Making excuses to exit the interaction
There may be many reasons why your partner does not want to talk or spend time with you at one particular moment.
However, in general, if the theme that emerges is somebody who simply does not want to talk to you or be around you, especially when the interaction is about something potentially uncomfortable or problematic.
For example, if you were asking them about their friendship with a coworker who they have admitted is attractive and they simply act like they have to leave right now, look away, avoid eye contact, and try many of the other signs on this list it is certainly not a great sign.
In the end, these avoidant behaviors in body language can lead to your partner simply walking away or avoiding interacting altogether.
That is why the ultimate and last sign of a dishonest partner is a partner who simply tries to exit interactions, text conversations or other times you are speaking with them.
