Secret Service Agent Explains Psychological Tricks To Read Anyone & Spot A Liar
Mel Robbins (host), Evy Poumpouras (guest)
In this episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, featuring Mel Robbins and Evy Poumpouras, Secret Service Agent Explains Psychological Tricks To Read Anyone & Spot A Liar explores 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.
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.
Key Takeaways
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. ...
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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. ...
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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. ...
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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. ...
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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. ...
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Don’t make other people’s behavior all about you.
If someone is cold, distracted, or off, observe instead of immediately assuming, “They don’t like me. ...
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Handle your problems early and directly instead of avoiding them.
Evy argues that we usually know what needs to be done—confront the issue, set a boundary, create distance, or leave—but delay because it’s uncomfortable. ...
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Notable 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
Questions Answered in This Episode
How can I practice baselining people in everyday low‑stakes situations so it becomes second nature when something really matters?
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. ...
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Where in my life am I ignoring obvious behavioral red flags because I don’t want to face the truth?
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What would change if, in my next difficult conversation, I focused on gathering information calmly instead of trying to extract a confession or reassurance?
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How does my own body language and voice undercut or support the confidence and authority I want to convey?
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Which relationships or situations do I need to “handle” now, while the problems are still relatively small, instead of hoping they’ll fix themselves?
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Transcript Preview
You served on this elite polygraph unit for the Secret Service. You were trained to be a human lie detector.
They call 'em examiners. I was like, "Nope, nope, nope. Don't want it." I didn't take a single criminal justice class. Zero.
I mean, that right there proves that anybody can learn anything. As somebody sitting there and you're going through a polygraph exam, you've got colleagues that are watching you, what are the list of things that you're assessing?
We'll do an example. "Hi, Mel. You know, I'm Evy. Good to meet you. Where are you from? Where were you born? What's your date of birth?" As you're answering these, you're looking at me, you're nodding your head up and down.
Uh-huh.
"Okay. I got Mel's baseline. Tell me about what happened on the night of March 15th, 1998."
I'll tell you what, sitting here right now, I feel like I'm in an investigation, and I'm about to get my ass thrown in jail. Were you ever in a moment where you were truly tested?
I remember pulling my weapon out and actually pointing it at him, and it was close to his head. And I'm thinking, "Am I gonna shoot this guy?"
Did you shoot him? Hey, it's your friend Mel, and I'm so glad that you're here with me today so that you and I can spend some time together. It is always an honor to be able to be with you, and I just want to acknowledge you for choosing to listen to something today that could help you create a more meaningful life. And if you're a new listener, welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast family. I am so glad that you're here, and you're gonna be glad that you tuned in to listen to this episode because you're gonna be learning from a fascinating person today with such a unique life experience, who has so much to teach you. Evy Poumpouras is a former special agent with the US Secret Service who has served during the presidential administrations of President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, and President Barack Obama. She's also served on the Secret Service details protecting former presidents George HW Bush and Gerald Ford. Her extensive and decorated career includes operating undercover, complex criminal investigations. She was an interrogator for the Secret Service's elite polygraph unit, which means she has been specifically trained in the art of lie detection, human behavior, and cognitive influence. She is also a best-selling author and professor of criminal justice. You might even recognize Evy because when criminal cases grab the world's attention or breaking news makes us all wonder, "Who's telling the truth?" every single news network on the planet has Evy on speed dial to analyze body language and critical verbal cues that suspects, politicians, and celebrities are sending so that you can tell when someone's lying. It's a real honor to have Evy here because Evy has received the United States Secret Service Valor Award for actions as a first responder during the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, and I'm so excited and grateful that she has made the trip to our studios here in Boston to give you a master class from over three decades of decoding body language for some of the most elite law enforcement agencies in the United States. I am so glad that you're here.
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