You better watch out when you give your loved ones a gift this Christmas, because new stats released show that an amazing 100% of people confessed to lying during this festive season.

The research found that 32% of people lie more than usual around Christmastime – tis the season to be dishonest apparently!

‘Human Lie Detector’ Darren Stanton says that we often don’t recognise when people are lying to us, and as the fibs increase over the next two weeks we should be on guard.

Don’t be a Pinocchio this Christmas!

So when your dad says he really loves those snowflake socks and you mum tells you she really needed another five body lotions, pay close attention to their behaviour. Six out of ten people admit to lying about loving a gift, while three in 10 people have lied about enjoying someone’s cooking.

The average person will tell at least three white lies in ten minutes, but many admit it’s all in good cheer as they want to avoid hurting peoples’ feelings.

Avoiding family gatherings is one that takes a bit of creative truth twisting too, and 1 in 10 people admit to lying to get out of such events.

Body Language and Deception Detection Expert Darren Staunton shares the seven top signs of lying:

Eye contact

Eye contact is key. Normal eye contact lasts three to five seconds, but eye contact for love or hate averages at seven seconds. So if someone has no reason to love or hate you and they’re staring for a long time, something is up.

Stress nerves

People’s noses go very pale or red when they lie – often called the Pinocchio effect. There’s also a nerve in the back of the neck that people often rub when stressed. Of course, sweating is always a classic, tell-tale sign.

Coughing

The survey was carried out by bronchostop cough syrup, who say that coughing is a common way to cover up a lie. If someone suddenly starts coughing when they haven’t coughed throughout the conversation, this could be a red flag. A simple way to test this is to change the topic that they aren’t happy with and talk about something else. Bring up the same topic again later on and if a cough appears again – hey presto, it’s a fib.

Changes in pitch to someone’s voice

People’s voices get higher when they’re lying. Sometimes voices will crack and the person will not even realise it. It’s an indicator that some companies use to catch fraudsters. Typically now when you speak to some companies, your voice is being monitored by fraud protection software. If the software detects stress or tension in the voice, it is often referred to a separate department for investigation!

Making insecure gestures

People will distance themselves from the conversation if they are lying and also make some out of character gestures when they’re lying. For example, people might step back or lick their lips if they aren’t feeling confident about the statement that they just made.

Changes in body movement and posture

If someone is quite animated and then they suddenly slow down and shrink in, then that could be an indicator that potentially, something isn’t right. It could just be that they’re very nervous because they’ve been placed into an unfamiliar environment. However, it does give off a good sign that there may be more to what they’re saying.

Stutters and pauses – the classic tell-tale sign

If you accuse someone of doing something then they might reply: “Err – no”, which isn’t natural to everyday conversation.  So listen out for people hesitating, using unusual language or stuttering their words.