Whether you’re in a work meeting or on a first date, it can sometimes be impossible to tell what someone is thinking.
But help is at hand, as experts have revealed the tiny facial microexpressions that can give away a person’s true thoughts.
Even minor changes in expression can convey important messages – from the position of the jaw to the movement of eyebrows.
‘Poker faces are all around us – in job interviews, business meetings, and especially at casino tables – but they’re not always easy to recognise,’ Cormac Moylan, chief marketing officer of the digital game store, Loaded, said.
‘The real challenge lies in uncovering what’s hidden beneath the surface.
‘One key to cracking a poker face is learning to spot microexpressions. These fleeting, subconscious facial movements reveal genuine emotions and are impossible to fake or suppress.
‘While they happen in the blink of an eye, with focus and practice, you can train yourself to pick up on them and gain a deeper insight into what someone might really be thinking or feeling.’
So, whether it’s a flared nostril or a raised eyebrow, here’s how you can interpret these minute shifts in expression.
Surprise
If someone is surprised, their eyebrows are likely to be raised and curved, and you may notice horizontal wrinkles across the forehead, Mr Moylan explained.
‘Without staring, notice if their eyelids are open, with the white of the eye showing above and below the pupil,’ he advised.
‘Their jaw may slightly open, too, but there will be no tension or stretching of the mouth.’
Fear
When a person is trying to hide fear or anxiety, their eyebrows will be raised and drawn together, usually in a straight line.
‘They may also show wrinkles in the centre of the forehead just between the eyebrows – but not across,’ he revealed.
‘Their eyes may have the upper white showing, but not the lower white.’
Tiny facial movements can give a way a person’s true thoughts, indicating whether they’re angry, disgusted or fearful of you (file image)
Disgust
Hiding disgust is difficult – but there are some subconscious facial movements to look out for.
‘The eyes may narrow, and the nose may be slightly wrinkled,’ Mr Moylan said. ‘Look out for a quick flash of the upper teeth, too.’
Anger
If you’re having a heated conversation or perhaps said something out of line in the workplace, there are easy ways to spot if someone is angry at you.
‘Look at the person’s eyebrows, and notice if they are lowered and drawn together, with vertical lines between them,’ Mr Moylan explained.
‘Their lips may also become tense, with corners down, or in a square shape.
‘Another good way to know for sure is if their nostrils dilate.’
An expert said these fleeting, subconscious facial movements reveal genuine emotions and are impossible to fake or suppress (file image)
Happiness
Happiness is the most difficult emotion to fake, and it’s easy to spot a fake smile if you know the trick.
‘Notice if they have crow’s feet near the outside of the eyes, if they don’t, and their lips are open in a smile, chances are they aren’t conveying genuine happiness,’ Mr Moylan said.
Sadness
Sad microexpressions can be difficult to detect – but they usually last slightly longer than others.
The guide suggests looking to see if the inner corners of the eyebrows are drawn in and then up, and the corners of the lips are drawn down.
The lower lip may also very slightly pout out.
Contempt
This is the only asymmetrical microexpression and is one of the easiest to spot – just check if one side of their mouth slightly raises.
If so, it’s likely someone disagrees with your opinion or dislikes you.
WHAT ARE THE NINE WAYS TO SPOT A LIAR?
The big pause: Lying is quite a complex process for the body and brain to deal with. First your brain produces the truth which it then has to suppress before inventing the lie and the performance of that lie.
This often leads to a longer pause than normal before answering, plus a verbal stalling technique like ‘Why do you ask that?’ rather than a direct and open response.
The eye dart: Humans have more eye expressions than any other animal and our eyes can give away if we’re trying to hide something.
When we look up to our left to think we’re often accessing recalled memory, but when our eyes roll up to our right we can be thinking more creatively. Also, the guilt of a lie often makes people use an eye contact cut-off gesture, such as looking down or away.
The lost breath: Bending the truth causes an instant stress response in most people, meaning the fight or flight mechanisms are activated.
The mouth dries, the body sweats more, the pulse rate quickens and the rhythm of the breathing changes to shorter, shallower breaths that can often be both seen and heard.
Overcompensating: A liar will often over-perform, both speaking and gesticulating too much in a bid to be more convincing. These over the top body language rituals can involve too much eye contact (often without blinking!) and over-emphatic gesticulation.
The more someone gesticulates, the more likely it is they might be fibbing (stock image)
The poker face: Although some people prefer to employ the poker face, many assume less is more and almost shut down in terms of movement and eye contact when they’re being economical with the truth.
The face hide: When someone tells a lie they often suffer a strong desire to hide their face from their audience. This can lead to a partial cut-off gesture like the well-know nose touch or mouth-cover.
Self-comfort touches: The stress and discomfort of lying often produces gestures that are aimed at comforting the liar, such as rocking, hair-stroking or twiddling or playing with wedding rings. We all tend to use self-comfort gestures but this will increase dramatically when someone is fibbing.
Micro-gestures: These are very small gestures or facial expressions that can flash across the face so quickly they are difficult to see. Experts will often use filmed footage that is then slowed down to pick up on the true body language response emerging in the middle of the performed lie.
The best time to spot these in real life is to look for the facial expression that occurs after the liar has finished speaking. The mouth might skew or the eyes roll in an instant give-away.
Heckling hands: The hardest body parts to act with are the hands or feet and liars often struggle to keep them on-message while they lie.
When the gestures and the words are at odds it’s called incongruent gesticulation and it’s often the hands or feet that are telling the truth.
