'I'm a private investigator - this is how to tell if someone is lying to you'

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Wanting to trust everyone around is a natural human instinct, but sometimes you can't shake the feeling that someone isn't being entirely honest with you. Everyone fibs now and again, but being around someone who you believe is constantly lying can be frustrating.

Catching a lie can be challenging but there are certain subtle cues you can learn to identify that just might make that annoyance disappear. Thankfully, a private investigator has revealed one of the top signs to look out for if someone is lying.

Private Investigator Aaron Bond, from Bond Rees Private Investigators, has spent 15 years mastering the art of lie detection and has revealed that the biggest clue that someone is lying is if they end a sentence and their tone changes to an upward inflection.

An upward inflection is when a person's voice rises at the end of a sentence - making it sound like a question. Aaron explains: “When someone uses upward inflection while answering a question, it can indicate they’re unsure of their response or aren’t confident in what they’re saying. It’s almost as if they’re seeking validation for their answer rather than providing a definitive statement.”

A normal statement, or a confident truth, are typically delivered with a steady tone because you are sure about what you are saying. However, a lie creates an internal conflict, which manifests itself through vocal patterns.

Aaron added: “In my experience, liars often feel a need to overcompensate or soften their deception by subconsciously inviting the listener to accept what they’re saying as plausible. For example, if someone answers, ‘I was at work? Until around six?’ rather than stating, ‘I was at work until six,’ the rising tone can signal doubt or fabrication.”

However, it is advised that you do not solely rely on this one cue, but instead to pair this observation with other signs of deception in order to get a clearer picture.

Aaron explains: “Liars tend to give too much detail to make their story seem believable. Listen for unnecessary elaboration that feels rehearsed. When lying, people often take longer to answer as they construct a convincing story. At times liars will repeat back your question to give them time to answer.

"If you ask someone 'What time did you finish work Friday?' and they repeat 'What time did I finish work Friday? 5pm', they were trying to buy time to come up with an answer so their lie doesn't fall apart."

Not everyone will lie the same but the upward inflection seems to be the most common sign that someone is deceiving you. Other signs of lying can include: avoiding eye contact, nervous or fidgety behaviour or other inconsistencies in their behaviour when constantly questioned.

One key tip is to ask the person open-ended questions as many people will dig themselves into a hole without realising it.

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