What body language shows lying?

Body language can communicate a variety of things to people.  Sometimes we might intentionally communicate something with our body language, and then sometimes, we will unintentionally communicate something that we may not want to.  The latter can be true sometimes when we are lying because we typically do not want someone to know that we are lying.  One common thing that will happen when someone is lying is that they will not maintain eye contact.  Making eye contact can sometimes make someone feel more seen, so if they are lying, they will sometimes naturally not make eye contact in hopes of hiding their lie from someone.  Some people are just not good and/or comfortable with eye contact, so it is not always the case that someone is lying, but it can be a common type of body language that shows someone is lying. 

Another type of body language that can communicate that someone is lying is fidgeting and/or shifting around a lot.  Lying is closely related to stress in the body, and that stress can cause the body to shift and fidget more.  Fidgeting can look like shaky hands, shaking one’s feet, fingers fidgeting around, picking at one’s fingernails, among other actions.  Shifting more looks like moving around in one’s chair when sitting or pacing when standing, among other actions.  This type of nervous energy could be that someone is uncomfortable for various reasons, including because they are lying.  The nervousness in the body when someone is lying can also lead them to sweat, so that is also something to watch out for.

Someone that is lying is more likely to show avoidant types of body language to those around them.  Again, lying makes the body uncomfortable for most people because of the anxiety involved in it, and so some people will avoid the conflict. Body language that communicates avoidance of conflict could be leaving a room, a closed-off stance to someone, among other things.       While someone could have other reasons for showing that avoidant body language, it is something to be suspicious of.