The simple hand-to-face gestures may indicate quite a bit about what the person is thinking, or if they are being deceptive.
In general, sudden movements that involve cupping the face, or covering one eye by placing the hand partly over it form the basis of the human deceit gestures.
When we either see, hear or speak lies or are being untruthful, our brains send messages to the parts of the body involved in ‘covering’ or concealing the truth.
As the saying goes, ‘hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil’. In an attempt to either protect us from what we are witnessing, or to mask our own deception, our brain will cause our bodies to react in some sort of defensive way.
In terms of hand-to-face gestures, these gestures can be indicators of the person being deceptive towards you, or they are trying to block out what is being said. Both of these reasons can be helpful in understanding what is going on in the person’s head at the time.
However, humans are complicated creatures. In most cases, it involves several different body language and facial mannerisms to truly get an idea if a person is being deceitful, holding something back, just embarrassed at the situation, or not knowing how to deal with what has just been said or done.
Someone may excessively blink, sweat, lick or bite their lip. Generally, this is a sign of nervousness, which may mean the person is lying, or simply that they are
nervous in that particular situation.
Body language is not an exact science. Instead, it can be a useful method in directing a person to question further, and for interrogators to know if they are on the right track.
Interested in learning more about the basics of body language? You can check out my other articles on this site, or for situational body language info and how to use it in writing, the Annabella Cordova series focuses on the use of body language in police work, and suspect interrogation.
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