Member-only story
Never Trust Someone Who Overuses “Honestly” or “Trust Me” in Talks
The More They Say It, the Less You Should Believe It
I once sat across the table from a startup founder who told me — six times in a 15-minute conversation — “Honestly, this is the best deal you’ll ever see.”
Each time he said “honestly,” something inside me winced. And I couldn’t explain why.
At first glance, it seems harmless. People say “honestly” all the time, right?
But the more you pay attention to how people speak, the more these small words start to carry massive weight.
The Subtle Lie Hidden in “Honestly”
It turns out, when people start sentences with “Honestly…” or “Trust me…”, it sounds reassuring. But it’s often a signal that they’re doing the exact opposite of what those words imply.
Psycholinguistics researchers — people who study the relationship between language and thought—have found that when someone says “to be honest” or “trust me” in conversation, it can be a red flag.
They aren’t always signs of deception, but they show up often enough in dishonest conversations that they should make your internal radar light up.
