Hidden meaning of gestures here! This article is all about lying, specifically the most common lying body gestures. Most people can tell who is lying from the eyes, but I’m here to show you now that the eyes aren’t the only way to identify a liar. Eyes are in fact one of the easiest fake. Now let's jump into the hidden meaning of gestures.

Try this simple test - tell a deliberate lie to someone face-to-face and make a conscious effort to suppress all body gestures.

Even when your major body gestures are consciously suppressed, numerous small micro-gestures will still be transmitted. These include facial muscular twitching, dilation and contraction of pupils, sweating, flushed cheeks, eye-blinking rate increasing from 10 blinks per minute to as many as 50 blinks per minute and many other micro-signals that indicate deceit. Research using slow-motion cameras show that these micro-gestures can occur within a split second and it's only people such as professional interviewers, salespeople and the very perceptive who can read them.

In a hurry to read this article? Jump straight to 'On The Run' Summary now.

In this article you’ll be introduced to 7 different body gestures which are all linked to lying and then you’ll be given the hidden meaning of gestures, so you can understand them fully and never get lied to again! Let’s jump in to the most common lying body gestures -

It's obvious then, that to be able to lie successfully, you need to have your body gestures hidden or out of sight. Interrogation involves placing the person on a chair in the open or placing him under lights with his body gestures in full view of the interrogators; his lies are much easier to see under those circumstances. Lying is easier if you're sitting behind a desk where your body gestures are slightly hidden, looking over a fence or from behind a closed door. The best way to lie is over the telephone or in an email.

1. The Mouth Cover

This is one of the most obvious body gestures associated with lying, and as I mentioned earlier it has nothing to do with eyes lying.

Next, read carefully the gestures meaning so you don’t miss it.

The hand covers the mouth as the brain subconsciously instructs it to try to suppress the deceitful words that are being said. Sometimes this body gesture might only be several fingers over the mouth or even a closed fist, but its meaning remains the same.

Some people try to disguise the Mouth Cover gesture by giving a fake cough. When actors play gangsters or criminals, they often use this body gesture when discussing criminal activities with other gangsters or when being interrogated by the police, so that the audience knows they're playing a secretive or dishonest role.

If the person who is speaking uses this body gesture, it indicates that they could be lying. If they cover their mouth while you are speaking, it can show they might feel you are hiding something. One of the most unsettling sights a conference speaker can see is his audience using this body gesture while he's speaking. A speaker should stop and ask, "Would someone like to ask a question?" or "I can see some people disagree. Let's take questions." This allows the audience's objections to be brought into the open, giving the speaker the opportunity to qualify statements and answer questions.

The Mouth Cover may appear as innocuous as the 'Shhh' body gesture where one finger is placed vertically over the lips; this gesture would likely have been used by the person's mother or father when he was a child. As an adult, the person uses it in an attempt to tell themselves not to say something they're feeling. The point is that it alerts you to something that is being withheld.

Body gestures are sometimes easier to pick out such as the mouth cover but remember not all lying signs are as easy to spot. Now on to more body gestures and the gestures meaning!

2. The Nose Touch

This is one of the most interesting body gestures because of the gestures meaning, read on to find out what I mean!

Sometimes the Nose Touch gesture can be several quick rubs below the nose or it may be one quick, almost imperceptible nose touch. Women perform this body gesture with smaller strokes than men, perhaps to avoid smudging their make-up.

The important thing to remember is that this type of action should be read in clusters and in context; the person could have hay fever or a cold. Scientists at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago found that when you lie, chemicals known as catecholamine’s are released, causing tissue inside the nose to swell. They used special imaging cameras that show blood flow in the body to reveal that intentional lying also causes an increase in blood pressure. This technology indicates that the human nose actually expands with blood during lying, and is known as the 'Pinocchio Effect'. Increased blood pressure inflates the nose and causes the nerve endings in the nose to tingle, resulting in a brisk rubbing action to the nose with the hand to satisfy the 'itch'. You can't see the swelling with the naked eye but this is what appears to cause the Nose Touch gesture. The same phenomenon occurs when a person is upset, anxious or angry.

Intrigued with all the lying body gestures and the gestures meanings yet? Good! Read on for the other 5 now!

3. The Eye Rub

'See no evil,' said one of the wise monkeys. When a child doesn't want to look at something he'll cover his eyes with one or both hands. When an adult doesn't want to look at something distasteful, the Eye Rub body gesture is likely to occur.

The Eye Rub body gesture is the brain's attempt to block out the deceit, doubt or distasteful thing it sees, or to avoid having to look at the face of the person who is being lied to. Men usually rub their eyes vigorously and if the lie is a real whopper they will often look away. Women are less likely to use the Eye Rub body gesture; instead, they will use small, gentle touching motions just below the eye, because they either have been conditioned as girls to avoid making robust gestures, or to avoid smudging make-up. They also avoid a listener's gaze by looking away. You'll find that eyes lying are a big part of body gestures in lying signs.

'Lying through your teeth' is a commonly used phrase. It refers to a gesture cluster of clenched teeth and a false smile, combined with the Eye Rub body gesture. This body gesture is used by movie actors to portray insincerity and by 'polite' cultures such as the British, who prefer not to tell you exactly what they're thinking.

4. The Ear Grab

Imagine you tell someone, "It only costs £900" and the person grabs their ear, looks away to the side and says, "It sounds like a good deal to me." This is a symbolic attempt by the listener to "hear no evil"; trying to block the words he is hearing by putting the hand around or over the ear or tugging at the earlobe.

This is the adult version of the Hands-Over-Both-Ears gesture used by the child who wants to block out his parent's reprimands. Other variations of the Ear Grab body gesture include rubbing the back of the ear, the Finger Drill, where the fingertip is screwed back and forth inside the ear, pulling at the earlobe or bending the entire ear forward to cover the ear hole.

The Ear Grab body gesture can also be a signal that the person has heard enough or may want to speak. As with the Nose touch body gesture, the Ear Grab body gesture is used by a person who is experiencing anxiety.

Prince Charles often uses both the Ear Grab body gesture and the Nose Touch body gesture when he enters a room full of people or walks past a large crowd. His anxiety is revealed here and we have never seen a photo or film footage of him using these body gestures when he is in the relative safety of his car. In Italy, however, the Ear Grab body gesture is used to indicate that someone is gay, so be careful with that one! Be careful with other body gestures and the gestures meaning aswell that we'll cover soon!

5. The Neck Scratch

The index finger, usually of the writing hand scratches the side of the neck below the earlobe. Observations of this body gesture reveal the person scratches an average of five times. Rarely is the number of scratches less than five and hardly ever more than five. This body gesture is a signal of doubt or uncertainty and is characteristic of the person who says, "I'm not sure I agree." It is very noticeable when the verbal language contradicts it, for example, when the person says something like, "I can understand how you feel" but the Neck Scratch body gesture is used, it indicates they don't.

We’re coming close to the end of the 7 most common lying body gestures and the gestures meanings now, with 2 left to go!

6. The Collar Pull

Desmond Morris was one of the first to discover that lies cause a tingling sensation in the delicate facial and neck tissues, and a rub or scratch was required to satisfy it. This not only accounts for why people who are uncertain will scratch their neck, it presents a good explanation as to why some people use the Collar Pull body gesture when they lie and suspect they have been caught out. Increased blood pressure from the deceit causes sweat to form on the neck when the deceiver feels that you suspect he's not telling the truth.

It also occurs when a person is feeling angry or frustrated and needs to pull the collar away from his neck in an attempt to let the cool air circulate. When you see someone use this body gesture, ask, "Could you repeat that, please?" or, "Could you clarify that point, please?" This can cause the would-be deceiver to give the game away.

7. Fingers-in-the-Mouth

This is an unconscious attempt by the person to revert to the security of the child sucking on his mother's breast and occurs when a person feels under pressure. A young child substitutes his thumb or a blanket for his mother's breast and, as an adult he puts his fingers to his mouth and sucks on cigarettes, pipes, pens and glasses, and chews gum.

Most Hand-to-Mouth body gestures can be connected to lying or deception but the Fingers-in-Mouth body gesture is an outward indication of an inner need for reassurance so giving the person guarantees and assurances is a positive move.

Hope you have learned a fair bit about the body gestures and the hidden meaning of gestures here, and realised that looking for the signals in the eyes aren’t the only way to spot a liar.  If you are interested in body gestures you should check out more social interaction summaries or specific such as the first impression, How to keep eye contact, Speaking to an audience and How to get ahead in business.

'On The Run' Summary

This is a broken down version of the above article. The 'On The Run' Summary is here to provide you with basic headers and points about the article so you can get the 'idea'.

• The hand covers the mouth as the brain subconsciously instructs it to try to suppress the deceitful words that are being said. Sometimes this body gesture might only be several fingers over the mouth or even a closed fist, but its meaning remains the same.

2. The Nose Touch

• Sometimes the Nose Touch gesture can be several quick rubs below the nose or it may be one quick, almost imperceptible nose touch. Women perform this body gesture with smaller strokes than men, perhaps to avoid smudging their make-up.
• Special imaging cameras were used to show blood flow in the body to reveal that intentional lying also causes an increase in blood pressure.

3. The Eye Rub

'See no evil,' said one of the wise monkeys. When a child doesn't want to look at something he'll cover his eyes with one or both hands. When an adult doesn't want to look at something distasteful, the Eye Rub body gesture is likely to occur.

4. The Ear Grab

• Imagine you tell someone, "It only costs £900" and the person grabs their ear, looks away to the side and says, "It sounds like a good deal to me." This is a symbolic attempt by the listener to "hear no evil"; trying to block the words he is hearing by putting the hand around or over the ear or tugging at the earlobe.

5. The Neck Scratch

• The index finger, usually of the writing hand scratches the side of the neck below the earlobe. Observations of this body gesture reveal the person scratches an average of five times.
• This body gesture is a signal of doubt or uncertainty.

6. The Collar Pull

• Desmond Morris was one of the first to discover that lies cause a tingling sensation in the delicate facial and neck tissues, and a rub or scratch was required to satisfy it. This not only accounts for why people who are uncertain will scratch their neck, it presents a good explanation as to why some people use the Collar Pull body gesture when they lie and suspect they have been caught out.

7. Fingers-in-the-Mouth

• This is an unconscious attempt by the person to revert to the security of the child sucking on his mother's breast and occurs when a person feels under pressure. A young child substitutes his thumb or a blanket for his mother's breast and, as an adult he puts his fingers to his mouth and sucks on cigarettes, pipes, pens and glasses, and chews gum.

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written by Kate, July 25, 2008

very cool, thanks for this info

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