This content was created by Christian Polk. This content was uploaded by Christian Polk. This is a YouTube video titled "NEVER say 'i'll be honest with you'" (created 2026-01-20). The excerpt is a two-person conversational segment (speakers labeled SPEAKER A and SPEAKER B) from a sales/communication coaching piece. They discuss how specific words and phrases can cost deals — e.g., advising against saying "I'll be honest with you" because it implies prior dishonesty, recommending using "agreement" instead of "contract," and recounting an anecdote about losing a $25,000 deal. The clip focuses on practical phrasing tips to avoid triggering negative reactions and improve sales outcomes.
I'll be honest with you.
No, be dishonest with me. At what point were you dishonest with me?
No, I wasn't. I just forgot.
But you said to be honest with you, which implies that at some point you've been dishonest. When was it? This is a conversation I got caught up on with a client. I'm only doing that to you because that's exactly what he did to me. And when I touched that stove, I went, oh, shit. I can understand what he's saying, right? I lost that deal. It was a $25,000 deal, and I lost it because I used those words to be honest with you. So those are ones that you want to put on your list of words to eliminate. Shouldn't we just be assuming that you're being honest with me? Why do we even say to be honest with you? Aren't we trying to emphasize how important this is that we're trying to say? So I'm sorry to wreck you like that for a second.
So this is really solid advice. But understand, like, what he's actually saying. A lot of people talk about, hey, don't say this, say this, don't say this, say this. Like, there's not magic words that are going to get somebody to buy, but there are things that you can say that will cost you sales for. For specific people. So it's not that you have to be super autistic with your words. It's just that you have to be aware that certain words, certain things that you do say can cost you deals with certain individuals. So it's best to just not take the risk and say those words regardless. Like, a big one that you'll hear is, don't say contract. Say agreement. And I'm sure 90% of the people you talk to, if you say the word contract, like, it's not really going to cause anything in their head, it's going to be fine. But it's those 10% that it will trigger something or cause a fight or flight response that you just don't want to trigger. And it's such a simple switch that you can start to say that you just might as well do it. That way you just get all the upside and none of the downside. So something like, hey, let me be honest with you, it does infer that you haven't been honest. And again, maybe only 10%, 5% of people you're talking to would pick up on that. But why cost yourself those deals when it's just as simple as just being careful with how you speak.
