Many of you probably know who Jodi Arias is and for those of you who don’t, she is being tried for the murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, which she is now claiming was self-defense.

Dr. Drew  and HLN TV are reporting on Arias’ trial and with the aid of Humintell Affiliate and body language expert, Janine Driver, there seems to be more to the story than Jodi is letting on.

“It’s interesting she deviates from her baseline,” Driver explained. “We call this ‘norming’ — what is someone’s normal behavior. While she says ‘no’, Dr. Drew, you may have noticed she subtly nods her head ‘yes’.”
 

The video clip, from the courtroom, shows that there are some interesting Hot Spots displayed by Jodi. 

By guest blogger Eric Goulard

Eric Goulard is a nonverbal and body language expert as well as Humintell’s France affiliate.  He offers online education and resources in the field of non-verbal communication through his website Non-Verbal.info.  

Below he offers some insightful excerpts on lie detection from his book, Les mensonges en action : Vos émotions vous trahissent!  Apprenez à détecter les mensonges. (Lies in Action:  Your Emotions Betray You!) .  This book is available in a second edition  under the title “Comment détecter les mensonges: vous emotions vous trahissent…” (Leduc.s Editions).

Lie Detection

Many of us know that there is no foolproof method to detecting lies, but we often forget that it is important to consider the risks of lie detection as well.

We are all human and we react to emotions, every day, all the time, from morning to night.  Emotional changes  in voice, body language and facial expressions give us an insight into what a person is thinking when they express those emotional changes.

In films, we can often see perpetrators hooked up to a lie detector.  What does this machine really do? Can it really tell if the person is lying?

Not at all! A lie detector detects emotional changes, not an actual lie.  An individual may be scared to death and will generate negative emotions, but that does not mean he is guilty! There is always a risk of error.

It is important to note that there is no precise way to detect deception. There are only clues indicating that the emotions expressed by a person (visually) do not agree with what he expresses verbally.  Accusing an innocent man is the worst thing that could happen.  In addition, the tension and stress of being falsely accused can make things worse.

We Believe Lies Everyday!

Another risk is to believe the liar.

This is what we do best in spite of ourselves! We hear lies every day, all around us. We do not notice all of them, but unconsciously we believe them and we live with this rationale.

If you go to buy a bottle of water and at the cash register you hear someone say to someone else, “My back hurts,” it may be a lie.  It is possible that this sentence was imposed for the sole purpose of maintaining the relationship with the other person.

When people feel good together, usually they talk.  If the silence is too long, it can be perceived as disturbing, so people talk, sometimes for no reason.  Often they dump out huge quantities of lies.  As trust is established, their words are rarely questioned.  It’s human nature!

Tips to Remember 

There is no conduct or expression that can give an absolute certainty of either truth or falsehood.

However, there are two main dangers when trying to detect deceit.  1.  Not believing the truth and therefore accusing an innocent person.  2.  Believing the lie, and therefore believing the liar.

To prevent misinterpretation, take some time to analyze the style of the person to establish a basis for analysis: the baseline.

This principle is also used to calibrate the lie detector machines prior to analysis.  The suspect must respond to simple questions such as: “Are you a man?”, “Are you thirty years old?”, “Is your name John?”, etc.  The officer in charge of the analysis verifies that the machine is responding correctly.

What would happen if the individual being tested thought intensely about very positive or negative things at the time of the calibration? The analyst would be unable to establish a reference of behavior.  He would be unable to calibrate the machine and thus detect emotional changes.

The Principle of Normality

In addition, you should always take into account a “normal” attitude to adopt in the analyzed situation.

It’s normal to be stressed out when talking in front of a group.  Cameras add an additional layer of stress, especially since the camera can reveal many facial expressions.  Therefore, don’t jump to the conclusion that a person is lying.  He/She may just be stressed out due to the situation.

Your reflection should focus on attitudes and reactions.  To help you in your reflection, you can keep these two questions in mind:

                 1.  “What would your attitude be in this situation?”                      2.  “How would you react?”

Be careful not to unduly restrict the possible attitudes and reactions of any situation.  Individuals are only human beings;  they feel emotions whether or not they are telling the truth.  We must take into account the emotions, positive and negative, the individual may feel in the circumstances of the observed situations when he is telling the truth.

The fear of being seen as a liar is close to the anxiety of not being believed.  In both cases, the primary emotion is fear.

To purchase his book via Amazon click here. 
You can learn more about Eric by following him on Twitter, friending him on Facebook or watching his video on YouTube.  

It’s no secret that one of the biggest headlines in the past week has been Lance Armstrong coming clean about his usage of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) over the course of his career. For years, Armstrong denied the use of PEDs, including during his SCA deposition in 2005 and many other media outlets.

Take a look at Armstrong’s body language, facial expressions and behavior in the short clip below from the SCA deposition 8 years ago. What do you see? Do any of his nonverbal behaviors contradict with what he is saying?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Compare his nonverbal behavior to the video below where Armstrong admits to using PEDs to Oprah Winfrey. Do you notice a difference?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Humintell director Dr. David Matsumoto commented on the short clip above and stated the following: “I think for the most part he’s telling the truth. Of course he is not telling everything and he is holding back many thoughts and feelings”

You can see Armstrong holding back his thoughts and feelings by his many expressions of control throughout the interview. For more about the expression of control, take a look at this past blog article.

Did you watch Lance Armstrong’s interview with Oprah?

What did you think?