Stepping Backwards

January 29th 2009 - 10:09am

The show uses this example of President Nixon making the classic gesture of not believing what you have just said:

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  1. Honestly Entertaining. Seriously, No Lie. ArtisticallyChill February 4th, 2009 at 9:09 pm

    [...] my favorite aspects of this show is how they incorporate real life footage of famous people using gestures that prove they are lying. The average person tells three lies in ten minutes of [...]

  2. Emily February 6th, 2009 at 11:56 am

    Sometimes a step backwards is just a sign of fear, as in “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” or “I don’t think you want to do that.” THAT might actually be true, but the person could be getting ready to run if they have to. When analyzing that gesture, I think you have to consider whether or not there’s a physical threat.

  3. Urzu February 10th, 2009 at 3:37 pm

    A bit of distancing language here; “Closing up” the solarplexus is an interesting part of this whole bit, as I’ve seen, in multiple cultures, ideas regarding the covering of the solarplexus as a method of self-comfort. The Samurai would wear a thick belt that covered the solarplexus in their general wear. During meditation, it’s sometimes believed that slight pressure applied to the area can assist in achieving the “diamond mind”. So again, it’s just interesting to consider how this occurs in every day life.

    Another method of “covering” is to attempt to place an object between yourself and the person you’re lying to; I believe that these two methods provide a similar sense of security.

    Stepping back and away after lying could be the liar’s way of attempting to step out of the situation; Attempting to soothe himself, calm his nerves after administering the lie. It’s these attempts to apply self-comfort in the moments after a lie that some of the greatest non-microexpression tells are given; A smile after the intended recipient of a lie seems to have accepted your story, stepping away from the recipient to indicate your departure from the situation, rubbing the nose to satisfy the resulting itch, or scratching the neck; Covering the solarplexus or placing objects between yourself and the viewer; Or even piling on additional “details” to pull the recipient along, and hopefully evading his suspicions.

    Human behavior is fascinating.

  4. Ex Boyfriend April 9th, 2009 at 7:37 am

    I noticed that this is not the first time you mention the topic. Why have you chosen it again?

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