How to catch a liar

TIP 1: IGNORE THE EYES, BUT MIND THE EYELIDS

If someone won’t hold your gaze, they’re hiding something, right? Guess again. According to Meyer, a good liar can easily maintain eye contact, while the average conversing pair only lock eyes about 30 to 60 per cent of the time. But during a lie, blink rate either slows down or increases – which can be a highly illustrative tell.

TIP 2: LOOK FOR RESPONSE INERTIA

‘That’s when a player has to think an extra millisecond before responding to what an honest player would answer immediately. It’s one of the great tells of the game,’ says Davidoff.

According to Meyer, great liars are often able to hide this response lag with conversational gimmicks that buy them precious seconds to get their story in order. So also keep a lookout for friends who respond with parrot statements that rehash your questions, or dodgeball statements that temporarily change the topic before returning to it.

TIP 3: WATCH FOR MICROEXPRESSIONS AND FACIAL ASYMMETRY

A microexpression is a subtle flash of true emotion that can glint across your face in as little as 1/25 of a second. According to Meyer, this is the number one facial clue that expert lie spotters are looking for. So as the game progresses, hunt the crowd for a flash of anger or a brief ‘unstifled’ smile.

Asymmetry in people’s facial expressions is also a huge tell. Meyer writes that while genuine emotion almost always displays itself on our faces symmetrically, deliberate expressions are often lopsided – like a crooked smile, one raised nostril, or even a one-sided shrug.

In games (and life), lying is commonplace. These tips will help you suss out the untrustworthy.