Judge Judy reveals 5 obvious and easy-to-spot signs someone is lying — the most important one is true in all cases
Body language does a marvelous job of giving away how a person feels. If you’ve ever observed someone’s hands or feet in a setting, you’d know whether they’re comfortable. However, body language is taken one level higher by being used as an indicator to catch liars. Judge Judy Sheindlin, known for her verdicts and excellent sense of discernment, shared that she relies on certain body language to catch a lie, per FOX Digital. Undoubtedly, it is her experience and knowledge, wrapped in exquisite skill that has helped the judge solve cases for 25 years but she also shared 5 obvious signs that give away a person is lying.
1. Keeping eye contact at bay
The eyes have a lot to say and often reveal innermost feelings. Judge Judy explained that when it comes to lying, much can be seen by observing the eyes. “When someone's lying to you, they're not going to look you straight in the eye," she noted. She added that “truth comes from the eyes.” Aversion of gaze is said to be one of the easiest signs to spot whether someone is speaking the truth. People who are lying will likely refuse to break gaze or avoid eye contact completely, per Study.com Both can be a sign that a person may be lying.
2. Flustered look in women
Sheindlin suggested that when women lie, they tend to get “flushed” around their chest area. She noted that this sign is one of the easiest to spot. This can happen because women often get embarrassed or stressed when trying to lie. These feelings become the right stimulus for the increased vasodilator chemicals in the bloodstream or an over-sympathetic nervous system, causing redness around the areas, per Better Health.
3. Men and guilty sweat
Sweat is supposedly the most common way to tell if a person’s lying. The judge noted that men start to “glisten” due to the perspiration. They may also begin to sweat from around their mouth and lips. Jim Clemente, a former New York State prosecutor and retired FBI special agent, explained that due to increased heart rate and pressure from lying, a lot of sweating may be visible, per TIME Magazine. One may also notice the pulse on the neck. This comes as a sign of a fight-or-flight response caused due to lying.
4. Looking from side-to-side
Bodily movements like looking around, side-to-side and rapidly changing eye movements can denote lying. Sheindlin recalled several times when she caught suspects looking side-to-side uncomfortably when lying. Clemente added, “Shifting their torso, moving the chair—I've seen all of that. You might see rubbing or wringing of the hands, pinching parts of the body, clearing the throat, and pulling on the hair. All these things can be stress and tension releases.”
5. Story just does not make sense.
Describing this as one of the most important signs to look out for, Judge Judy highlighted that if what the person is saying doesn’t make sense, it’s most definitely a lie. “There are sometimes aberrations. But aberrations come rarely in life. Most of life has a rhythm. So if something doesn't make sense to you, it's usually not true,” she explained. This closely connects with other experts’ words from TIME. Repeating the same story over and over again, using qualifiers or even trying hard to explain the scenario can give away that a person is lying.
