People who lie want desperately to be believed. Therefore, in their desperation, they will lean into the person they are talking to as a means of ingratiating themselves and appearing affable and likeable. It’s basically a manipulative attempt to entice others into believing them. As a result, you may often see them lean for ward when they are engaged in one-on-one communication. It is an attempt to create a false sense of intimacy and make you think they are telling you the truth. The photo on the following page captured the only time O.J. leaned for ward during the entire interview; it was likely an attempt to drive home the point that he was not involved in his wife’s death. In my opinion, this sudden leaning for ward, combined with the finger-pointing, appear to indicate deception.
Photo 7-10: O.J. leaning forward during a Court TV interview with Catherine Crier on the 10-year anniversary of his wife’s murder. Photo Credit: AdLIB Design/Splash News.
We can often see this behavior in criminals who are interviewed prior to their conviction. When Scott Peterson was interviewed by Diane Sawyer, we could see him leaning forward throughout the whole interview, likely in a feeble attempt to appear ingratiating and believable. He gave this interview before his wife Laci’s remains were found along with those of their unborn child. As he leaned for ward, he continued to lie about not knowing the whereabouts of his pregnant wife, when all along he knew that her body was at the bottom of the bay. Peterson did this with another interviewer
on CBS, as well. Even though the journalist confronted him about his lies regarding his girlfriend, Amber Frey, Peterson still remained in that forward-leaning position.
We also observed this posture with convicted wife-killer Drew Peterson on the Today Show, as he tried to convince Matt Lauer and the world that he had nothing to do with the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, or the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy. We also saw it with convicted
boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias as she spoke to 48 Hours and tried to come across as a sweet and likeable girl, even though she knew that she had killed him by stabbing him multiples times in the shower. Another common thread with each of these forward-leaning criminals is that they rarely, if ever, move from this position during their interviews.
Former Presidential candidate John Edwards leaned forward like this during his interview with ABC reporter Bob Woodruff, as he denied that he was the father of his mistress, Rielle Hunter’s child.
FIDGETING OR STAYING TOO STILL
Another telltale signal of deception is fidgeting. The reason for this is that the autonomic nervous system is once again taking over in a primitive ―fight-or-flight‖ response. Oftentimes people will want to literally flee from stressful or uncomfortable situations. So if a liar knows he is going to be
interrogated or interviewed, the innate biological instinct kicks in to physically get him out of there— hence, the excess energy and extraneous body movements.
On the other hand, a liar may not move at all. This may be a sign of the primitive neurological ―fight,‖ rather than the ―flight,‖ response, as the body positions and readies itself for possible confrontation. When you speak and engage in normal conversation, it is natural to move your body around in subtle, relaxed, and, for most part, unconscious movements. So if you observe a rigid and catatonic stance devoid of movement, it is often a huge warning sign that something is off. At the very least, this person is trying too hard to keep control over himself and his conversation; at most, he may be trying to manipulate and deceive you. This very same thing could be observed in the body language of convicted wife killer Drew Peterson. In his many interviews, he would sit rigid and stone faced as he proclaimed his innocence. He insisted he was innocent of his third wife, Kathleen Savio’s murder, and insisted he knew nothing of the whereabouts of his fourth wife, Stacy, who had suddenly
disappeared. With his hands firmly clasped in front of him, Peterson never moved from that position. When a suspect is being interrogated by law enforcement and seems rooted to the spot, it is usually taken as a red flag that the suspect knows a lot more than he’s letting on. Further, if he’s gripping his arms or hands, he is literally attempting to ―get a grip‖ on himself so he won’t reveal what he wants or needs to keep secret.
Photo 7-11: Nicki Minaj (far right) exhibiting a fixed body position, with clasped hands and crossed arms over her knee, throughout the entire panel discussion as she tries to conceal what were most likely negative feelings toward her fellow judge Mariah Carey (far left). Photo credit: Getty News
Entertainment.
Nicki Minaj consistently and vociferously denied being involved in a feud with her fellow judge, singer Mariah Carey. However, the fact that Nicki sat rigid and immobile and refused to even look at Mariah, spoke volumes about the truth concerning this feud. This unnatural behavior is usually a red flag as far as deception is concerned, precisely because it is unnatural. The liar attempts to
micromanage her body movements so that no one will think she’s lying; ironically, however, it is this very behavior that is letting people know that she is in all probability being deceitful.
CHANGES IN HEAD POSITION
When someone has been caught in a lie, you will often see various odd or awkward head
movements. The head will be (a) retracted or jerked back, (b) bowed down, or (c) cocked or tilted to one side. If you see someone suddenly make any of these movements, particularly after you have asked him a pointed question, it’s possible he’s not being completely honest with you.