The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

THE BOOK OF TELLS
people are asked to tell a lie they tend to produce more
signs of deception in the lower part than in the upper part
of their body. When video recordings of these people are
shown to other people who are required to judge whether
they are lying or telling the truth, the judges are more
accurate if they are exposed to recordings of the lower part
of the body. 14 Clearly there is something about the legs and
feet which shows them to be an underrated source of information
about lying. It seems that liars focus their efforts at
concealment on their hands, arms and face, because they
know that's what other people will be watching. Because
their feet feel remote, liars don't bother about them - but it's
often tiny adjustments of the legs and feet that betray them.
Nose Tells
One gesture that reveals a lie is the 'mouth-cover'. When
this happens it's as if the liar were taking precautions to
cover up the source of his deception, acting on the
assumption that if other people can't see his mouth then
they won't know where the lie has come from. Mouthcovering
actions can range from full-blown versions where
the hand completely covers the mouth, to gestures
where the hand supports the chin and a finger
surreptitiously touches the corner of the mouth. By placing
a hand on or near the mouth, a liar behaves like a criminal
who can't resist the temptation to return to the scene of his
crime. Just like the criminal, the hand lays itself open to
detection - at any moment it could become apparent
to others that the act of touching the mouth is an
attempt to conceal a lie.
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