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When people lie, they will often break eye contact and look away. This is usually one of the most obvious signs of deception. They do this because they want to avoid seeing your facial expression in case you detect their lie. In essence, they are ―saving face.‖

Photo 8-1: Lance Armstrong avoiding eye contact with Oprah during his interview.Photo Credit: Getty Entertainment News.

During his interview with Oprah, Lance Armstrong had a hard time looking at his interviewer. This was particularly evident during the specific times he was likely still engaged in deception.

Liars who constantly break eye contact are uncomfortable with intimacy, at least at that moment; they would rather control or manipulate you through their lies. If they look directly at you they might feel intimidated and/or incapable of maintaining the upper hand, their ―power over‖ you. They may also not want to look at you looking at them lying. Such liars will look to the right, to the left, up, or

down; it doesn’t matter. Personally I find no significance in the direction of the eye movement, only in the fact that they have broken eye contact.

Embarrassment is another reason liars avoid eye contact. Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o couldn’t look at the ESPN reporter who was interviewing him about his fictitious girlfriend. He both closed and covered his eyes, as he literally didn’t want to see the mess he had created. When he insisted, ―I know it sounds crazy, but I am innocent,‖ Manti was still lying. He knew he wasn’t ―innocent‖ because at that point he was still being dishonest. He was continuing to lie about ―Lennay’s‖ death and her funeral even though he was already aware that he had been catfished.

Photo 8-2: Bernard Madoff refused to look any of his victims in the eye when he gave his cursory and insincere courtroom apology. Photo credit: Splash News.

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff did not look at any of the three investors who spoke at his sentencing hearing, even when one of the three turned in Madoff’s direction and tried to address him directly. When Madoff finally turned to the investors and gave a brief and insincere apology, still he refused to look at them. In my opinion, the reason for his lack of eye contact was due to his shame and embarrassment over getting caught and losing his sense of power over others. His apologetic words were empty because he never visually connected with those he had hurt. This was his opportunity to engage with and even make some amends to those whose finances he had recklessly ruined. The fact that he refused to look at them told them that he didn’t really care about them; even then, it was all about him.

Unless you are dealing with someone who truly doesn’t know right from wrong, a liar knows when he/she is about to tell a lie. That is why liars often look down in order to focus on the tale they are about to spin or have already spun. After Tiger Woods was caught cheating on his wife with numerous women, he constantly looked down during his speech at a press conference. It made many people question his sincerity. It made them wonder whether he was apologizing only as an attempt to repair

his reputation and keep himself from losing future endorsements. His lack of eye contact reeked of insincerity to many (if not most) who watched him that day. That, in addition to pursed lips, spoke volumes about his willingness to admit his unfaithfulness to the world. It indicated he may have even been forced into doing the press conference by his handlers.

Oftentimes people who are lying will look down because they do not want to be distracted by the negative reactions of others. Perhaps this was another reason why Bernard Madoff continued to look down as he rattled off his empty apology. This downward gaze also helps the liar more easily

concentrate on his mission to deceive, as it did for John Edwards during his Nightline interview. Edwards simply could not look Bob Woodruff in the eye as he, Edwards, lied about not being his baby’s biological father (which, of course, he was forced to admit months later).

A liar may also actually cover his eyes with his hands to avoid seeing and being seen. Because it can be very tiring to lie and keep all the facts straight, a liar will often cover or press on his eyes in order to relieve the muscular tension and fatigue in this area. The autonomic nervous system can trigger the muscles of the body to work overtime, which includes the tiny muscles around the eyes.

Photo 8-3: Covering the eyes or pressing on the eyes with the hands can be a form of self-soothing during moments of deception. Photo credit: Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock, Inc.

Staring

Of course, the converse can also hold true: an uncomfortable, protracted, unblinking stare, with eyes wide open, can indicate deception, as well. This is often the liar’s attempt to look someone in the eye so that it will appear as though she/he is being totally honest. It’s a form of overcompensation.

Apparently no one was better at making steady, staring eye contact than financial scammer Bernard Madoff. How else could he have seduced some of the nation’s most powerful investors? Even the richest, the most famous and powerful people fell for his scheme. Had they known to be wary of those who stare and constantly maintain eye contact, they may have had the sense to avoid doing business with Madoff. But unfortunately, most were charmed or hypnotized by his stare, as they misinterpreted it as genuine caring about them and their financial future.

In this rare photo of Madoff, taken before he was caught, you can get a better idea of how he was able to seduce potential investors by his stare. Madoff was known for always looking people in the eye and making them feel good about themselves. As Diana Henriques, a reporter who recently

interviewed him behind bars, said, ―He never took his eyes off of me. He leaned forward and was very interested in everything I had to say‖ (from her New York Times article, ―The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff‖). Henriques’s statement clearly shows how Madoff was and obviously still is a good listener. He knew the power of a constant eye contact to make people think he cared when, in reality, he couldn’t have cared less.

Photo 8-4: Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was known to stare directly into clients’ and prospective clients’ eyes, likely to control and manipulate. Photo credit: Excusive Candid/Splash

News.

Madoff, like most con men, overcompensated and stared at people longer than usual, often without blinking at regular intervals. The smiles of such con men are typically fake, as well. If you cover Madoff’s lower face in the previous photo, you will see that his mouth is smiling but his eyes are not. This half smile reveals the con’s ambivalence toward his victims. He is trying hard to be pleasant, ingratiating, and likeable, but his cold, level gaze indicates that he knows exactly what he is doing.

When people tell the truth, most will occasionally shift their eyes around and may even look away from time to time. Liars, on the other hand, will use a cold, steady gaze to intimidate and control, as convicted murderer Drew Peterson did. He did this during interviews to make people think he was likeable, honest, and, above all, innocent, which of course it didn’t. In fact, while he was in the makeup room at a major cable network, the makeup artist told me personally that she felt he was hitting on her She said that Peterson ―wouldn’t stop staring‖ at her as he looked directly into her eyes, refusing to break eye contact.

My personal thoughts were that his staring at her was not seductive at all, but instead his way of intimidating this unconventional-looking, tattooed, pierced, very slight woman. I believe this was Peterson’s attempt to exert power and control over someone he didn’t understand, an unknown quantity, as it were. He may have done the same thing when he was a police officer, staring to

intimidate and control those he arrested, not to mention his many wives, over whom he clearly exerted a great deal of control.

People will sometimes stare like this when they feel defensive. Making the other person look away or blink first means they have succeeded in intimidating that person; they have the upper hand. No doubt this is what Lance Armstrong was trying to do when he stared down an interviewer who questioned him about his alleged doping. This arrogant gesture was congruent with his other

behaviors—particularly, suing for defamation those who questioned or reported him, when he knew all along that they were telling the truth.

Photo 8-5: Lance Armstrong staring at someone who questioned his use of performance-enhancing drugs. His stare was almost certainly meant to intimidate. Photo credit: Jennifer Lorenzini/Splash

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Glaring

Glaring is a lot different than staring because it occurs in a flash of anger, as opposed to a steady and more consistent gaze. But it is still a gaze of hostility. It is a narrow-eyed look or glance that only lasts a short period of time. It is a form of ocular punctuation that says, I am looking at you to make

sure you are showing signs that you believe the lie I have just told you—you had better believe me.

Glaring also says, I am angry that my lie is being questioned.

In this photo, we see a finger-pointing Clinton’s angry glare as he insists that he is innocent and didn’t have sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky. If you see a glare like this, know that the person is either angry or lying—or both.

Photo 8-6: President Bill Clinton glaring icily as he denies having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. Photo credit: Joyce Naltchayan/Staff AP/Getty Images.