The Ultimate Body Language Book

Mouth covering is another way to reduce the pain of telling a lie. In this case, it is so as to “speak no
evil.” Small children perform a full cover and even slap their mouths when they say something they
shouldn’t. Grown adults will sometimes cup their hands to their mouths like children in effort to “jam
the words back in their mouths” but usually use more subtle gestures such as talking through their hand
or placing a finger softly over their lips. Talking with ones hand covering the mouth “talking through
the hand” or resting the hand around the mouth by wrapping the fingers around the top, are significant
clues indicating insecurity.
Subconsciously, hand-to-mouth gestures leads people to distrust others, and see them as less honest
overall. The gesture can be done with a fist, a finger, or a ‘shushing’ motion with the index finger
vertically placed over the lips. Other times the subconscious mind is so powerful that the hand comes
up and slaps the mouth, but to cover this ‘tell’ up, a fake cough is added.
‘Talking through the mouth’ is seen as dishonest.