Q&A for How to Detect a Liar

You should always try disarming the other person first. Confront them in a way to make them less defensive and more open to seeing their behavior and to think about it. For example, you could say something like, "Is there something that I'm doing that makes you feel uncomfortable? Because it seems to me that you are hiding something or don't want to tell the truth in some capacity."

It would be difficult, as a professional liar would know his "tells" and take measures to prevent them. If the person is avoiding eye contact and trying to change the conversation, these could be signs.

Not necessarily. Being an expert in psychology does help a person to understand others' minds and they are able to manipulate others easily, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are perfect liars.

Does he go out of his way to spend time with you? Does he seem to genuinely care about your thoughts and feelings? If so, he probably cares. Why would he lie? If not, you need to have a conversation about the relationship and how you're feeling.

It really depends on the pathological liar. If you are uncertain whether or not they may try to harm you, the best option would be to keep it to yourself and try to cut ties with that person.

Body language is communicating through conscious or unconscious movements or gestures. For example, someone who is lying may communicate (unintentionally) that fact through nervous hand washing, which is a form of body language.

People who are lying usually have difficulty maintaining good eye contact and may seem fidgety.

Bluffs tend to be unique to each person. It could be anything from various facial expressions to body movements, etc.You have to recognize a baseline (how they typically act in a truthful situation) and then pay attention to what changed before you can expose a bluff.

Your powers of observation are going to be your greatest asset here. Look at how the person normally behave, then when they lie, you may be able to tell a difference (fidgeting, blinking a lot, averting the eyes, etc.).

Try engaging her in conversation on a different topic and note some of her behaviors (body posture, how often she blinks, how quickly she speaks, etc.). Then shift the topic to the issue of her mom disliking you. Ask for more information, and see if her body language and speech patterns change. This may indicate that she's lying.