I'd like your take on prefacing a statement with "Honestly" or "The truth is..." I was told to never ever use these words in a business setting. It sets up in the mind of the listener that you may not have been honest in the past. And maybe you aren't being honest now if you have to make a point of saying so.
I have always avoided stating things with this preface in my personal life and in business settings.
What do you guys think? Is this a harmless way to emphasize your point or is it a red flag that maybe you aren't honest?
Or am I just paranoid?
Jerry,
is there any difference between "Honestly" and "Frankly" in terms of perception?
Many Russians (I'm Russian) have a tendency to start a sentence with "Honestly" having in mind to emphasise that they trust you or reveal some information about themselves; so, we can automatically use transfer it to English.
It's hard to explain and I just wonder if you consider these adverbs as synonyms.
Honestly, I want to be honest:) and need your help please.
Thank you
Now Phil is a man who digs the truth.
Frankly, I had forgotten about that study. It appears that I am a genius.
Well, to tell you the truth... OK... never mind :)
Yes, this expression is very commonplace, in fact, much too common.
And when a word or an expression is overused, it loses its emphasis.
This is similar to words like "actually".
Many people view these words and terms as useless, meaningless, and even annoying fillers.
Saying "honestly" makes me think of a person who might ask "Do you ever lie?"
How would we ever know if the statement or answer is valid or truthful.
In my humble opinion, you were right not to use the "honestly" expression.
