Look the person in the eyes. Do not glance around furtively. Even though eye movement has been proven to not be associated with lying, many people still make the correlations. Do not fidget. This could be playing with your hands, gesturing, putting your hair behind your ears, or other nervous tics. Try sitting on your hands or grasping your hands together to avoid fidgeting. Power prime. Power priming is when you think back to a time when you were in control or had power. Calling upon these memories can affect how other people perceive you. By putting yourself back where you were when you were successful and/or cunning, people will perceive you that way, too.

For example, let’s say you broke a window. They may not be upset about the broken window—they may actually be upset that you did not tell them about it immediately, or perhaps money is tight, and the unforeseen cost is causing them stress. Figure out what they are truly upset about, which might be different than what you see as important. What they are upset about may be different than your point of view, but it is key to becoming empathetic with your words. [8] X Research source For the window example above, instead of saying “I’m sorry I broke the window,” or “I didn’t mean to break the window,” speak to their concerns. say “I should have told you about the window immediately” or “I know things are tight right now, and I’ll pay you back with my allowance. "