Steps to Spot Deception Using Facial Expressions at Work
Sometimes, a lie at work doesn’t sound like one. It looks like a tight smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes. Or a sudden blink rate that speeds up at just the wrong moment. Reading faces can give us insight when words feel off. With facial expression analysis, we can pick up on those subtle shifts in real time.
Even in calm workplaces, people may hide thoughts or feelings to avoid tension. Spotting deception isn’t about catching someone in a lie; it’s about noticing when their expression doesn’t match their message. These clues matter during team meetings, hiring calls, and performance reviews. When we learn what to look for, we give ourselves a stronger chance of responding with clarity, not confusion. Persuasion Edge offers science-backed training and coaching that helps professionals read people in real time by decoding emotion and intent through body language, microexpressions, and behavioral patterns, so those moments feel less confusing and more manageable.
Why Deception Happens in the Workplace
At work, truth-telling can carry risk. That’s why people sometimes hold things back or put on a face that doesn’t reflect how they feel. It’s rarely about being dishonest for the sake of it.
People might deceive or conceal due to:
• Self-protection, they may fear being blamed or criticized
• Fear of damaging relationships, avoiding conflict with a manager or peer
• Job security, not wanting to appear incompetent or difficult
Not all deception is harmful or manipulative. In many cases, people are trying to protect themselves from embarrassment or judgment. By understanding the reasons why someone might hide something, we can meet those cues with patience instead of frustration. That keeps conversations open rather than defensive.
Recognizing the Most Telling Facial Cues
The human face is full of information, especially when pressure rises. Skilled facial expression analysis means learning how to read what doesn’t align.
Here are three common cues that suggest discomfort or concealment:
• Forced or mismatched smiles, for example, smiling with the mouth but not the eyes
• Asymmetric expressions, one side of the face raises more than the other, which can signal emotional conflict
• Microexpressions, brief flashes of emotion that don’t match the words being spoken, like a half-second frown before saying everything is fine
Decode Anyone, Persuasion Edge’s online body language course, walks learners through decoding subtle emotional shifts in the face and understanding truthfulness, stress, and state changes through behavior, including specific training on recognizing deception cues in everyday conversations.
Eye behavior shifts are another common pattern. When someone suddenly avoids eye contact, blinks rapidly, or freezes their gaze, it may signal internal tension. None of these cues alone prove someone is lying, but they tell us when to slow down and ask better questions.
Context Is Everything: Avoiding False Reads
Interpreting facial expressions without context is a fast way to make bad calls. Just because a coworker looks anxious doesn’t mean they’re hiding something. They could be grappling with a tight deadline, dealing with personal stress, or simply not feeling well.
Here’s how to avoid misreading the moment:
• Get to know someone’s baseline, if an employee always looks serious, reading that as deception may be off
• Compare current expressions to earlier behavior in the same conversation
• Notice outside factors, lack of sleep, tension from another meeting, or even seasonal stress can alter how people react
Persuasion Edge’s baseline training reinforces this idea by defining baselining as observing someone’s normal behavior first and then reading small changes in posture, lean, and orientation as signs of comfort or unease, instead of guessing from a single tense expression.
It’s not about spotting a lie with one quick look. It’s about seeing changes in behavior and giving yourself room to notice what feels out of sync.
How to Stay Present and Spot Real-Time Shifts
When conversations get tense, we often go into mental overdrive. We start planning what to say or what the other person might do next. But quick visual shifts happen in milliseconds, and if we’re not tuned in, we miss them.
To read facial changes in real time:
• Focus on the flow, notice when someone’s facial expression changes during a specific part of a topic
• Watch for pauses, long gaps after a direct question can point to internal decision-making or hesitation
• Stay grounded, if we get nervous or distracted, we lose those small but telling signals
Practice helps, but staying calm and observant is what helps patterns emerge. Over time, the shift from one expression to another becomes easier to track, even during quick exchanges.
Facial Expression Analysis in Remote and Hybrid Work
Reading faces over video is harder, but not impossible. With more teams working from home or in mixed settings, visual cues often arrive through a pixelated screen. That changes how we need to look.
Here are specific challenges and how to adjust:
• Delayed reactions, internet lag may hide fast facial changes or make expressions seem exaggerated
• Frozen or flat posture, some people go still during tense topics, and that stillness can be easy to miss
• Unnatural lighting or bad camera angles, these can hide important cues around the eyes and mouth
Rather than trying to catch every twitch, look for consistency. If someone’s usual animation drops off or their face doesn’t match the tone of their voice, that tells you something about how they feel in that moment.
See More Than Words: Building Honest Conversations
When people hold back at work, it’s often tied to fear, pressure, or the need to protect themselves. Reading facial expressions with care gives us a window into those unspoken tensions.
By noticing the small shifts, choosing context over quick conclusions, and slowing down during tense moments, we open up space for honest conversation. We don’t have to be mind readers. We just have to be observant and responsive. When we pay attention to what faces are showing us, we create a better path toward understanding and clarity.
At Persuasion Edge, we help professionals sharpen the skills that make real conversations more honest and effective. Whether you’re leading a team or guiding daily interactions, reading facial shifts in real time can make a big difference. To explore practical, science-based techniques, our guide on facial expression analysis is a great place to start. Reach out to us to learn how we can help you apply these tools with more confidence.