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The Sun
09-05-2025
- The Sun
The telltale signs to spot a liar – from slow hand clue that's a real giveaway & the trick they use to call your bluff
THE key mistakes everyone makes when trying to catch out a liar have been revealed - and some are not as telling as you may believe. Research suggests people lie once every day on average, ranging from little fibs to spare your feelings, to serious deceit by cheating partners. 4 4 It turns out our ability to spot liars isn't all that good, with little over half (54 per cent) of us able to pick up on a porkie. And the reason is because we're looking out for the wrong signs, Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology at Edge Hill University, told The Sun. "There are no telltale signs of lying per se," he explained. "There are indicators of planning in speech when you're making something up. "And there are indicators of negative emotions. "A lot of people feel shame or guilt or embarrassment when they're lying. "But some people don't, which of course makes it more complicated." Here are some of the biggest misconceptions about spotting a liar. Eye contact 4 Eye contact is the biggest telltale sign that people seem to believe in. The problem is, every liar knows of that trick and will do everything in their power to stop themselves from avoiding eye contact. How close you get to a person can unintentionally affect their eye contact too, making it appear like they're lying when they're not. "My mother always said she could tell when I was lying, she said, because you just can't look me in the eye," explains Professor Beattie. "She would lean forward when she'd ask the question and research has shown the police do exactly the same thing. "You've got somebody, you think they're guilty, you lean forward. "Well, the point about eye contact, it's also affected by interpersonal distance. "So if you're sitting very close to someone and they lean forward, you look away." Fidgeting and movements Another misconception is that fidgeting or excessive shifting is a sign that someone is lying to you. If anything, you need to look out for less movement, Professor Beattie says. "They think people are going to be nervous and therefore they move more," he continued. "All the indication is that people move less when they're lying. "So, what they're trying to do is they're trying to dampen down behaviours to give less away. "The best indicators of lying seems to be that people make fewer hand movements and fewer foot movements when they're lying, not more as people expect." However, gesture-speech mismatches could be a sign. Often when people speak they tend to move their hands to emphasis what they're saying. For example, if someone is talking about a long journey they might stretch their arms and hands out. "If they don't dampen down their gestural movement, occasionally they will say something and the gestural movement doesn't match what they're saying," he adds. Smiles A liar may use a smile to mask their emotions - but how long it stays on their face matters. Those telling a porkie tend to smile and it fades quickly, whereas those with not lying have smiles that fade a lot slower from their face. There's also something called micro-expressions, which are the really brief expressions that start appearing just before you get the masking smile in place - but they're so quick most people miss them. "If you play the videos back in slow motion, people can say, oh, there's something quite strange there or I didn't notice that," Professor Beattie says. "There's a kind of look of fear or look of sadness which they didn't pick up." Professor Beattie has published a book on the subject called Lies, Lying and Liars: A Psychological Analysis. 4
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Daring Macron risks angering Trump in touchy-feely White House showdown
There were hugs, back slaps and touching knees as Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron revived their tactile displays of diplomacy in the Oval Office. Yet the French president made an unusually daring move on Monday as the leaders jostled to use body language as a power play. Mr Trump, who tries to exude an alpha male supremacy, likes to 'get the upper hand in close combat sports', explained Prof Geoffrey Beattie, a body language expert from Edge Hill University, who noted the US president's love of handshake diplomacy. However, during Mr Macron's visit to the White House to present a European plan for peace in Ukraine, 'he contested Trump's right to dominate the interaction', the psychologist said, adding: 'It was no longer the boss and the apprentice.' In a particularly tense moment, Mr Macron, 47, interrupted his 78-year-old counterpart as Mr Trump falsely claimed that Europe was 'loaning' money to Ukraine and would get 'their money back'. Mr Macron put his hand on Mr Trump's arm and carefully corrected him: 'No, in fact, to be frank, we paid 60 per cent of the total default.' Like the US, he said, it was through a mix of grants, loans and guarantees, adding: 'We provided real money, to be clear.' This physical interjection was a 'daring move in this body language politics … and one that is uncommon in interactions with American leaders', Prof Beattie said. He added: 'He is wrestling for control of the interaction, by stopping him gesturing or interrupting. Trump looks surprised, and it takes him a few seconds to remember how to put on a patronising face.' In doing so, Prof Beattie said Mr Trump was forced to change his power strategy and so 'turns to the reporters in the room, looking for a kind of alliance, waving his other free hand to say, 'I don't believe this''. 'It is as if he is saying: 'Give the boy a chance,' in a patronising way,' he said. Throughout the press conference, which took place on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mr Macron had been unusually forthright in his gestures that told Mr Trump 'not to interrupt', Prof Beattie said. During Mr Trump's first term, Mr Macron was one of the first world leaders to fight back against the US president's trick of accepting handshakes and then yanking world leaders off-balance. In an infamous incident in 2017, he gave Mr Trump a white-knuckle handshake and the squeezing duel left white finger marks on his hand. A year later, Mr Trump took hold of Mr Macron's hand and practically dragged him into the Oval Office in an overt – and well-photographed – symbol of dominance. On Monday, Mr Macron also made it clear he disagreed with Mr Trump on key points, including clearly labelled Russia as the 'aggressor', a point on which Mr Trump wavered last week when he wrongly accused Ukraine of starting the war. The two presidents' high-profile meeting came amid a growing rift between Washington and Europe over Ukraine, following a major policy shift by the Trump administration to restart diplomacy with Russia. But both leaders appeared on the charm offensive as Mr Macron hailed their 'friendship from your first term', while Mr Trump ended the conference telling the Frenchman to 'say hello to your beautiful wife'. Prof Beattie said: 'From the footage, it's clear Trump doesn't want to go head-to-head with Macron, but he does want to come out as the winner. 'He is a narcissist, who wants to seem untouchable, but we all know he is thin-skinned.' He added that Mr Macron, at times, clearly had more to say but yielded the floor to Mr Trump in a clear sign that 'he is still playing the subordinate role'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Daring Macron risks angering Trump in touchy-feely White House showdown
There were hugs, back slaps and touching knees as Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron revived their tactile displays of diplomacy in the Oval Office. Yet the French president made an unusually daring move on Monday as the leaders jostled to use body language as a power play. Mr Trump, who tries to exude an alpha male supremacy, likes to 'get the upper hand in close combat sports', explained Prof Geoffrey Beattie, a body language expert from Edge Hill University, who noted the US president's love of handshake diplomacy. However, during Mr Macron's visit to the White House to present a European plan for peace in Ukraine, 'he contested Trump's right to dominate the interaction', the psychologist said, adding: 'It was no longer the boss and the apprentice.' In a particularly tense moment, Mr Macron, 47, interrupted his 78-year-old counterpart as Mr Trump falsely claimed that Europe was 'loaning' money to Ukraine and would get 'their money back'. Mr Macron put his hand on Mr Trump's arm and carefully corrected him: 'No, in fact, to be frank, we paid 60 per cent of the total default.' Like the US, he said, it was through a mix of grants, loans and guarantees, adding: 'We provided real money, to be clear.' This physical interjection was a 'daring move in this body language politics … and one that is uncommon in interactions with American leaders', Prof Beattie said. He added: 'He is wrestling for control of the interaction, by stopping him gesturing or interrupting. Trump looks surprised, and it takes him a few seconds to remember how to put on a patronising face.' In doing so, Prof Beattie said Mr Trump was forced to change his power strategy and so 'turns to the reporters in the room, looking for a kind of alliance, waving his other free hand to say, 'I don't believe this''. 'It is as if he is saying: 'Give the boy a chance,' in a patronising way,' he said. Throughout the press conference, which took place on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mr Macron had been unusually forthright in his gestures that told Mr Trump 'not to interrupt', Prof Beattie said. During Mr Trump's first term, Mr Macron was one of the first world leaders to fight back against the US president's trick of accepting handshakes and then yanking world leaders off-balance. In an infamous incident in 2017, he gave Mr Trump a white-knuckle handshake and the squeezing duel left white finger marks on his hand. A year later, Mr Trump took hold of Mr Macron's hand and practically dragged him into the Oval Office in an overt – and well-photographed – symbol of dominance. On Monday, Mr Macron also made it clear he disagreed with Mr Trump on key points, including clearly labelled Russia as the 'aggressor', a point on which Mr Trump wavered last week when he wrongly accused Ukraine of starting the war. The two presidents' high-profile meeting came amid a growing rift between Washington and Europe over Ukraine, following a major policy shift by the Trump administration to restart diplomacy with Russia. But both leaders appeared on the charm offensive as Mr Macron hailed their 'friendship from your first term', while Mr Trump ended the conference telling the Frenchman to 'say hello to your beautiful wife'. Prof Beattie said: 'From the footage, it's clear Trump doesn't want to go head-to-head with Macron, but he does want to come out as the winner. 'He is a narcissist, who wants to seem untouchable, but we all know he is thin-skinned.'
