2019-11-01 Cosmopolitan

EYES

You came up with an out for skipping that

heinous brunch plan, now sell it.

By EMMA BATY

5 ways

to

be a better liar

Tossing off a convincing untruth is a

skill. That’s not to say you should go full

scammer on your life. But in case of

emergency—like that Tinder date who said

t h ey l ove li v in g a t h o m e—yo u c a n h a c k

yo u r b o d y l a n g u a g e t o m a ke t h a t I - h a ve - a n -

early-morning fib believable. Here, how your

bod is betraying you and what to do next.

THE FAIL

Backing or

turning away

from the

person you’re

fibbing to hap-

pens because

you’re trying to

distance yourself

from what

you just said.

So. Meta.

YOUR FIX

If you catch

yourself moving

backward while

telling your boss

you’re way too

sick to work

from anywhere

but bed the rest

of the day, stop

right where you

are. Stay there

and endure the

awkward.

Blanca

Cobb, body-

language guru

and speaker

OUR^

EXPERT

THE FAIL

Some people

think the key

to lying is eye

contact, so they

end up doing

it reeeally

intensely—like,

staring-contest

level. Nope (also,

creepy).

YOUR FIX

Where your

eyes go doesn’t

really matter. So

feel free to look

around the room

as usual while

you tell Jackie

you thought those

were community

Doritos.

THE FAIL

The fidgety things

you do when

you’re anxious,

like tapping your

toes and shuffling

your feet, are no

bueno.

YOUR FIX

Take a seat as

you weave a web

of (probs worth

it) lies. It’s harder

to unknowingly

speak weird body

language when

your legs and

arms can only

move so much.

Take a sec right now to assess how you’re sitting and what your body

language looks like. Pay attention next time you talk to someone too. That,

my friend, is your new Stealth Liar Posture. Learn it. Love it. Live it.

THE BOTTOM LINE

MOUTH

THE FAIL

A finger on the

lip or cupping

your mouth is a

dead giveaway.

YOUR FIX

We know you’re

a pro at double-

fisting, so do it

as you tell that

frat brah you’ve

got a boyf.

STANCE

FEET

THE FAIL

If you’re a hand

talker—as in,

you physically

demonstrate

how tall last

night’s Hinge

date was—

you’ll probably

get even more

animated while

bullshitting.

YOUR FIX

Remain calm

and employ your

normal level

of gesturing

while making an

excuse to skip

that one friend

of a friend’s

birthday party.

Worried about

hand control?

Try the hands-in-

pockets trick.

HANDS

Thi

sh

air

is

*n

ot*

(^) fu
ll
of
se
cre
ts.
you
November 2019 Cosmopolitan 33
LYU
BA
BU
RA
KO
VA
/S
TO
CK
SY
.