Forget Eye Contact: A Psychologist Explains How to Actually Spot a Liar

September 10, 2026 - 10:50

The idea that a liar will avoid your gaze or fidget nervously is deeply embedded in popular culture. According to psychologist Leanne ten Brinke, that assumption is misleading. Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, she explained that most people rely on the wrong cues when trying to detect deception, and that eye contact in particular tells us almost nothing about whether someone is telling the truth.

Ten Brinke, who studies deception and dark personality traits, noted that skilled liars often maintain steady eye contact precisely because they know it makes them appear trustworthy. Instead of watching the eyes, she suggests paying attention to inconsistencies between what a person says and how they say it. Changes in vocal pitch, unusual pauses, and small shifts in wording can be more revealing than body language.

She also discussed the so called dark tetrad, a group of four personality types: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. People with these traits tend to be comfortable with manipulation and can lie without visible signs of stress, which is why traditional nervousness based detection methods fail so often.

Her advice is to focus on the content of a statement rather than the delivery. Ask open questions, listen for details that do not add up, and compare accounts over time. A single gesture or glance proves very little. Patterns and contradictions, she says, are where the truth tends to surface.