SUBTEXTour gestures will decrease. However, the person hoping to catch
a lie must first know how the suspected liar uses gestures and
whether or not he or she is uncertain about other things besides
the possible lie.
Dr. Ekman mentions still other possible giveaways in lie detec-
tion. There are moments in which a hand grooms, massages, picks,
scratches, or in some way manipulates some part of the body.
He calls these motions manipulators. They may last only a short
time, or they may go on for many minutes. In some people the
hair is smoothed, the ear is picked, or the body is scratched.
Sometimes the lie evidences itself as hair twisting, foot tapping,
finger rubbing, or any kind of nervous fidgeting.
These restless movements are usually made when someone is
ill at ease—or lying. There is some question about this because
when the stakes are high, when the lie is important, the manipula-
tions may, in fact, decrease. This happens because the liar realizes
that nervous fidgeting is considered a giveaway of deception. But
in everyday lies, manipulators tend to increase, and the subtext
sent out is "this person is lying."
In sum, there are no definite signs, signals, facial expressions,
or gestures that will absolutely expose a liar. But there are many
little clues to emotional excitement, which is often, though not
always, linked to lying.
Schopenhauer gave this advice about catching a liar: "If you
have reason to suspect that a person is telling you a lie, look as
though you believe every word he said. This will give him courage
to go on; he will become more vehement in his assertions and in
the end betray himself."