The Mel Robbins Podcast

Secret Service Agent Explains Psychological Tricks To Read Anyone & Spot A Liar

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them. — Today, a secret service agent is teaching you how to read body language, master your emotions, and spot a liar. In this one of a kind episode, agent Evy Poumpouras is unpacking proven strategies and psychological tricks to get what you want. Evy is a former secret service agent who has protected 5 U.S presidents. She is a “human lie detector” who has been specially trained in the art of lie detection, human behavior, and cognitive influence. And today, she is giving you a masterclass of all of her best secrets from over 3 decades of training and experience. Evy’s extensive and decorated career includes operating undercover, complex criminal investigations, and working as an interrogator for the Secret Service’s elite polygraph unit – and she’s here to arm you with information, tools, and strategies in this special episode. Evy Poumporuas’s website: evypoumpouras.com For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page: www.melrobbins.com/podcasts/episode-189 Follow The Mel Robbins Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelrobbinspodcast I’m just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I’ll see you in the next episode. In this episode: 00:00:00: Introduction 00:03:32: How does having confidence and reading body language change your life? 00:06:50: The biggest takeaways we can learn from presidents and foreign heads of state. 00:10:15: Do this to manage stress in a high pressure job. 00:15:11: This is how professionals detect if someone is lying. 00:19:15: How to detect someone’s baseline and when you can use this skill. 00:26:00: Does eye contact REALLY give away if someone is lying? 00:30:00: Do this to show a conversation matters to you through your body language. 00:33:20: Why it’s important to just let people be. 00:36:14: Is there anything people do with their eyes to indicate they’re lying? 00:39: 25: Do this to be more secure in yourself around other people. 00:43:00: Are there verbal cues to indicate that you aren’t being told the truth? 00:47:11: The importance of being less focused on just yourself. 00:49:37: How do you get the truth out of someone? 00:52:50: When do you know it’s time to call somebody out or back away? 00:56:45: What is paralinguistics and how does it impact how we talk to people? 00:59:00: Do this to make your voice come through to others with more authority. 01:05:49: Be clear about your own objectives before entering a difficult conversation. 01:09:45: Someone not answering you IS an answer. 01:12:27: The REAL reason we don’t trust our gut. 01:14:30: The first step to changing the negative situation you are in. — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@UCk2U-Oqn7RXf-ydPqfSxG5g Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah

Mel RobbinshostEvy Poumpourasguest

Jul 3, 20241h 18mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Secret Service Human Lie Detector Reveals How To Read Anyone Honestly

Former Secret Service agent and elite polygraph examiner Evy Poumpouras joins Mel Robbins to break down how to read people, spot deception, and project authentic confidence. Drawing on decades protecting presidents and interrogating suspects, she explains baselining behavior, separating truth from performance, and why actions matter more than words. They explore resilience, handling high‑stress situations, setting boundaries, and the power of paralinguistics—the way your voice conveys authority and trust. Throughout, Evy pushes listeners to stop ignoring obvious red flags, trust their own judgment, and “handle your shit” by acting on the truth they already see.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Establish a baseline before judging anyone’s behavior.

Notice how someone acts when they’re relaxed—posture, eye contact, tone, openness—and then watch for shifts when topics become emotional, specific, or threatening. You’re comparing them to themselves, not to a generic “telltale sign” list.

Stop believing universal body‑language myths, especially about the eyes.

Looking away, fidgeting, or breaking eye contact often means someone is thinking, stressed, or wired differently—not lying. Let people be natural so you can learn their true patterns instead of correcting them in real time.

Use body language and presence to project calm confidence.

Face people directly, keep your arms uncrossed, maintain appropriate eye contact, and align your body with your words. Your goal is harmony between what you say and how you physically show up, not a stiff performance.

Focus more on how you speak than on saying everything perfectly.

Strong paralinguistics—steady tone, slightly deeper voice, slower pace, and deliberate pauses—builds authority and trust more than cramming in every detail. Reduce your talking points so you have mental bandwidth to control delivery.

Actions and omissions reveal more truth than explicit confessions.

People may never say, “I did it,” but their behaviors, small admissions, inconsistency, avoidance, or changing the subject form a clear pattern. Treat dodged questions, vague answers, and chronic misalignment between words and actions as information, not noise.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

You can't let everything penetrate your soul. You need mental armor.

— Evy Poumpouras

I don’t care what people say. I look at what they do.

— Evy Poumpouras

You don’t need the smoking gun from people. Most of the information you’re going to get are little breadcrumbs you collect and put together.

— Evy Poumpouras

Handle your shit. If things aren’t right, they’re not right because you’re allowing them to not be right.

— Evy Poumpouras

Bravery comes through action. It’s not something you think about, it’s something you do.

— Evy Poumpouras

Secret Service training, polygraph work, and lie detectionBaselining and reading body language in real lifeEye contact myths and how to truly interpret gazeParalinguistics: using tone, pace, and pauses to convey authorityRecognizing charmers, omissions, and behavioral red flagsManaging stress, resilience, and learning from high‑stakes mistakesPersonal responsibility, boundaries, and acting on uncomfortable truths

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