Here’s a red flag that you’re listening to a liar:
Their speech sounds more formal. When we’re comfortable, we tend to use contractions, like “won’t” and “don’t.” But lying takes more mental effort, according to psychiatrist Dr. Alan Hirsch. So, to buy ourselves a little more time to come up with a story, we’re more than twice as likely to unconsciously switch to more-formal phrases, like “will not” and “did not.” So, if someone starts avoiding normal conversational contractions – consider that a heads-up!
