It turns out that our instincts are usually right about whether someone is lying; we just don’t identify the instinct in time. So after careful research, long hours in our laboratory, and large scale human testing, we came up with these 25 definitive signs that tell you if someone is lying to you. Use it for good. Or use it up your own lying ways. We don’t care.

1. Liars will always hesitate to make eye contact when lying

2. Some liars know about No. 1, so they end up making too much eye contact

3. They justify themselves and give more information than you’ve asked for

4. A full shrug indicates uncertainty, a partial or forced shrug indicates deception

5. Liars are likely to stutter, it’s hard to make things up and talk at the same time

6. When lying, they avoid contractions. “I didn’t do it” is more truthful than “I did not do it”

7. It’s hard to fake a true smile; if the lips are smiling and the eyes aren’t, that’s a sign.

8. Liars tend to turn away after telling a lie or show signs of discomfort

9. Watch for a slight increase in the voice pitch that a person is speaking in

10. Liars tend to blink less when lying and then blink up to 8x faster afterwards

11. They often act defensive and cross their arms

12. When asked a question, liars will repeat your words in their response

13. The dilation of the pupils is perhaps the best sign to look out for

14. Liars tend to use a very specific denial, I didn’t do X at Y time with Z.

15. They purse their lips and mouth when lying

16. When lying, they tend to touch their mouth, nose, or face

17. Liars tend to share irrelevant details

18. Or to make inconsistent and contradictory statements

19. Liars tend to preface their explanations, like “As far as I can remember…”

20. The words and gestures of liar don’t always add up

21. Liars know how to paint pictures with words. Ignore the fluff.

22. Liars subconsciously place objects between themselves and the person they are lying to

23. A liar will tell a story in strictly chronological order, where as truthful people start by recounting the most vivid emotions first

24. A liar will always go on the defensive and truthful on the offensive

25. They begin to distance themselves from the things they speak about; ‘my’ car becomes ‘the’ car