Text Removes Live Context

In person, you can compare words with tone, pacing, posture, and facial expression. None of those cues proves deception, but they give you context for better follow-up questions. The second the conversation moves to text, most of that live context vanishes. The deceiver gets a blank page to work with, and they know it.

The trade-off: writing gives a liar more time to craft a story, but also more words to keep straight. That strain shows. Watch for sudden shifts in style, oddly formal phrasing, or messages much longer or shorter than how this person usually writes.