I'm a having my residency in psychiatry and interviewing people is part of the daily grind. I recently added two phrases that grinds my mental gears after going through countless patients spewing these phrases. I know these are just expressions, some form of conversation fillers that are convenient to add on a sentence to give it more depth, a habit in the choice of words, but damn I wish there's a lot of insight when it comes to their use during live conversations.
"If I'm being honest..."
I don't know who you are but if you begin a thought with this line, I immediately think you weren't being honest prior. I know this is just an expression or a filler, but when people actually want to mean what words they say, it just screams insincerity to the previous facts they tell you about themselves.
What? were you not being honest about the stuff you've told me before and I should be taking notes now? One could do away with this line entirely and their line of thinking can still be received without the fluff. Just feels like I wasted listening some milliseconds of my time and these interviews can last more than an hour during first consultations. I hate the usage of the words, not the people.
"To tell you frankly..."
The use of the adverb frankly feels like a self monologue but instead of using the thought bubble, it became a speech bubble. It comes across the words prior and the follow up were never conveyed in honesty that's why there's an emphasis to use the word "frankly". To tell you sincerely, to tell you honestly, to tell you maliciously~ make it stop.
Again, I know these are just common expressions, lines said for the sake of saying to fill a sentence and I'm just reacting to the inconvenience that I have to constantly read between the lines when people say this and mean that.
Normal people use these on their daily conversations that it just loses the impact as the words lost its meaning. Frankly is something the receiver usually describes how the messenger delivered it, not the messenger having the live commentary about their input.
Part of the consult is verifying some consistencies in what people say. I've been lied to a lot during thee follows because some patients want some regulated prescription drugs, the good stuff, because they developed some dependence and have trouble adjusting.
Thanks for your time.