How to Spot a Liar by their Eyes

It’s important to understand that people lie for two fundamental reasons: either because they anticipate pleasure, or they are wanting to avoid pain. Many of us lie for self interest everyday such as on a job resume or when the wife asks if we like her new dress (sorry ladies), but some people lie because they feel if they tell the truth, they won’t get what they want. These lies can be harmful to you, so i am going to show you how to detect such deception simply by looking in their eyes.

The eyes are sort of an indicator of what the brain is thinking. Research into Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) has shown that the eyes react to different types of thoughts in the brain. For example, if you asked someone to “imagine a yellow cow”, they might move their eyes Up and to the left which indicates the brain is visually constructing an image in their mind. Be warned though that eye cues really only indicate what the brain is doing in response to your question, not the actual thoughts. For example, you may ask someone to imagine a yellow cow, but they instead remember a time when they drew a yellow cow, which would make them look in the opposite direction.

So how can this information be used to spot a liar?
Let’s say your boyfriend comes home late, and he says he went out to the bar with the guys. When he gets home you ask him “did you have fun with the guys?” When he replies “Yeah, i had lots of fun”, you notice he looks to the left. This would indicate a made up answer as their eyes are showing a constructed image or sound. Looking to the right would indicated a remembered voice or image, and thus would be telling the truth. He probably has no reason to lie about whether he had fun or not, so you can assume he did not go to the bar with his friends.

looking up and to the left

Up and to the Left

Indicates: Visually Constructed Images (Vc)

If you asked someone to “Imagine a purple buffalo”, this would be the
direction their eyes moved in while thinking about the question as
they “Visually Constructed” a purple buffalo in their mind.

looking up and to the right

Up and to the Right

Indicates: Visually Remembered Images (Vr)

If you asked someone to “What color was the first house
you lived in?”,
this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about
the question as they “Visually Remembered” the color of their
childhood home.

eyes left

To the Left

Indicates: Auditory Constructed (Ac)

If you asked someone to “Try and create the highest the
sound of the pitch possible in your head”,
this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about
the question as they “Auditorily Constructed” this
this sound that they have never heard of.

eyes looking right

To the Right

Indicates: Auditory Remembered (Ar)

If you asked someone to “Remember what their mother’s
voice sounds like “,
this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about
the question as they “Auditorily Remembered ” this sound.

eyes down and to the left

Down and to the Left

Indicates: Feeling / Kinesthetic (F)

If you asked someone to “Can you remember the smell of
a campfire? “,
this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about
the question as they used recalled a smell, feeling, or taste.

looking down and to the right

Down and To the Right

Indicates: Internal Dialog (Ai)

This is the direction of someone eyes as they “talk to themselves”.

Final Notes

*** Looking straight ahead or with eyes that are defocused/unmoving is also considered a sign of visual accessing.

*** A typical left-handed person would have the opposite meanings for their eye-directions.

*** As with other signs of lying, you should first establish and understand a person’s base-behavior before concluding they are lying by the direction of their eyes.

5 Responses to “How to Spot a Liar by their Eyes”

  1. admin says:

    Down and to the Right indicates “Auditory Digital” in the brain, or basically that the person is talking to their internal voice. It’s that voice in your head that reminds you to be brave or acts as your conscience, and most likely this just indicated a feeling of guilt in him and can’t really be used to determine if he’s lying.

  2. Jackie says:

    My boyfriend admitted to sleeping with another woman. He told me what happend and that he had stayed the night over and even took a shower together. I asked him if they had sex in the morning when they work up and he said no they didn’t as he slightly turned his head to the right with his eyes looking down and to the right. Whis this website says is: Internal Dialog. “As someone talks to themself”

    That confuses me! Was the fact that he was talking to himself and not me, mean that he was lying?

  3. dess says:

    um when u say they look to the left do u mean ur left or theyre left?

  4. Prashanth says:

    Well jessica its hard to find or come to conclusion about a person who is telling lie or not and it can be done/praticed over the years. Pratice makes man perfect. Keep trying.

  5. Jessica says:

    I found this article highly useful. There are times I have often wondered whether or not people are lying to me, but never knew how to read their facial expressions!

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