Have you ever been tempted to exaggerate or be less than honest about your professional credentials or employment history at a job interview? According to communication experts Allan and Barbara Pease, knowing what the silent signals of body language reveal about a person at an interview, will help change your mind!
Regardless of how confident and convincing you may sound at an interview, if you are lying your body will send out contradictory signals that will alert others to your deliberate deception.
Allan, who has extensively studied and researched the unspoken power of body language for over 30 years, reveals that it is actually very difficult to lie, even with years of practice and rehearsal! Professional liars and actors can refine their body gestures to a point where others may not necessarily “see” the lie, but for the inexperienced, the tell tale traits of deception will conspire against you every time. Being “exposed” at a job interview is not the best career move!
“The difficulty with lying is that the subconscious mind acts automatically and independently of our verbal lie, so our body language gives us away with basic gestures such as avoiding eye contact, covering the mouth, crossing arms and legs or touching the nose or the neck,” says Allan.
“But even you manage to consciously suppress these major body gestures, numerous, seemingly indiscernible, micro gestures will still be transmitted such as facial muscular twitching, dilation and contraction of pupils, sweating, flushed cheeks and increased eye- blinking.”
“Indeed, lying does unusual if sometimes subtle things to human bodies!”
Allan and Barbara have identified eight of the most common lying gestures in their new book which should provide an obvious deterrent for anyone considering to throw caution to the wind at an interview.
Allan explains that, interestingly, these familiar gestures each involve “hand to face” mannerisms as the face is used more than any other part of the body to conceal lies.
“Our attitudes and emotions are continually revealed on our faces and, most of the time, we are completely unaware of it. When we’re trying to conceal a lie, or a certain thought flashes into our mind, it can be shown for a split second on our face”.
Physiologically, there are also more nerve connections between the hands and the brain than between any other parts of the body. Consequently, hand movements and positions provide another interesting insight to our inner thoughts.
So if you are going to lie through your teeth in attempt to mask the inadequacies of your curriculum vitae, you should avoid the following gestures:
1. The Mouth Cover. The hand actually covers the mouth as the brain subconsciously instructs it to suppress the deceitful words that are being said. Some people try to disguise the mouth cover by giving a fake cough
2. The Nose Touch. Sometimes the nose touch can be several quick rubs below the nose or it may be one quick, almost imperceptible nose touch. Scientists have found that when you lie, chemicals are released, causing the nose tissue to swell and the nerve endings to tingle. Because the nose actually expands, this phenomenon has been dubbed the “Pinocchio Effect”. When the former American president, Bill Clinton, was giving testimony at the Grand Jury on his affair with Monica Lewinsky, he touched his nose once every four minutes for a grand total of 26 nose touches.
3. The Itchy Nose. As opposed to the light strokes of the Nose Touch gesture, this gesture is a deliberate rubbing or scratching action. An itch is usually an isolated repetitive gesture, out of context with the person’s overall communication.
4. The Eye Rub. The Eye Rub is the brain’s attempt to block out the deceit, doubt or distaste or to avoid having to look at the face of the person who is being lied to. Men usually rub their rub their eyes vigorously whereas women are less likely to use the Eye Rub, instead using small, gentle touching motions just below the eye.
5. The Ear Grab. As with the Nose Touch, the Ear Grab is used by a person experiencing anxiety.
6. The Neck Scratch. This gesture is a signal of doubt or uncertainty and, observations of this gesture by Allan and Barbara, reveal the person scratches an average of five times. Rarely is the number of scratches less than five and hardly ever more than five.
7. The Collar Pull. Increased blood pressure from lying causes perspiration to form on the neck and a collar pull is an attempt to allow the cool air to circulate.
8. Fingers in the Mouth. This gesture occurs when a person is feeling under pressure.
While it is commonly believed that when someone is lying they smile more but, in fact, research shows that the opposite is true – they smile less. So beware, the solemn, sweaty, scratching job applicant!
But Allan and Barbara do have some final words of wisdom for those still tempted to stretch the professional truth at job interviews.
“Obviously, to be able to lie successfully, you need to have your body hidden or out of sight so always choose the telephone interview!”
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