There are countless situations in life where we have to figure out how someone really feels, but they have a good poker face that keeps their feelings well-hidden. According to body language expert Terry Vaughan even the most deceptive people in the world have a tell: the left and right sides of their face don’t usually match.
So, which side do we believe? Vaughan says the left.
“The reason this is a powerful hack is because the left side of the face is more likely to reveal the ‘true emotion’ or the ‘dominant’ emotion if there’s a mix,” Vaughan says. The reason? “The right hemisphere of our brain does more heavy lifting in dealing with processing emotions. The left hemisphere…is a little more analytical or ‘strategic.’”
If someone is trying to be deceptive and “present” a dishonest emotion, their true feelings or “dominant emotions” will be noticeable on the left side of their face. When you’re talking to a salesman and you don’t really know how they feel about the used car they’re selling, pay attention to the incongruity between both sides of their face.
“Focus all of your visual attention on the left side of the individual’s face rather than the whole thing or the right,” Vaughan instructed.
The body language hack is a big hit on TikTok with over 10 million plays.
“OMG I’ve always covered one eye on people’s pictures to see the real them! My family thought i was crazy! Now I know I was right in doing so,” LT wrote in the comments. “I love this… but imagine this scenario, carrying a cardboard to the next coffee date, pulling it out and halfing their face to check,” Maria_me joked.
