21 Phrases That Make People Instantly Stop Listening and Lose All Respect
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Some words are better not said, and the Reddit community agrees. In a recent thread, someone asks, “What’s a word that people use that you immediately disregard everything they say after that?”
Not surprisingly, many of these words are common phrases that we just can’t seem to escape from. With some awareness, maybe we can. See what people thought were the worst phrases and words below.
1. I’m a Life Coach
There’s a lot of drama around life coaches on social media. Some people find them helpful and life-changing, while others point out how many are total scams or a waste of time and money. Of course, it ultimately depends on the actual person (the coach and coachee).
One user writes, “Life Coaches are usually people that want to be a therapist but didn’t want to put in the work to get licensed. When I was in grad school for clinical mental health counseling, I had a professor who sh** on life coaches pretty much every week.”
2. I’m an Alpha
If someone is bringing attention to themselves to be designated as an “alpha,” this bothers a lot of people.
One woman writes, “My ex calls himself an alpha male. The only way he’s alpha is that he’s unstable, unreliable and not fit for public release.”
3. Sheep
Many of us are guilty of following the status quo on occasion. But no one likes to be called a sheep.
“The word “sheep” in reference to everyone but them.” says one user. This makes the person talking some ignorant and conceited- which no one likes.
4. Social Media Jargon
An entire sub-thread of Reddit turned into a discussion of words that people can’t stand on social media posts. These included “… and GO!” at the end of a post, “THIS!”, “Say it louder for the people in the back” and excessive use of emojis. Many users say this is an instant recipe for a block.
One user writes, “That “…and GO” causes me to go into an unhealthy and over-the-top rage that even I can’t explain. I so f***ing hate that.”
5. Listen Closely
One Redditor is over the phrase, “Pay careful attention, I’m only going to say this once.” If people want to listen, they will.
6. Detox or Cleanse
People with chronic illness (or who have close family or friends with chronic illness) are tired of hearing people’s recommendations for a detox or cleanse.
One user writes, “Sorry to hear about your husband’s condition, maybe he should try a master cleanse?” Ug.
In all seriousness, while they might work for some people- throwing out a random suggestion to someone suffering isn’t usually a great idea.
7. Mispronunciations
Some people can’t help but start spell-checking people’s words when they mispronounce. Examples include: supposably and pacifically (instead of specifically).
8. Underrated
A few Redditors annoyingly point out how often the word “underrated” is used. It’s used so often, that one user poitns out, “It’s overrated, even.”
9. Female
“I’m personally not offended by men calling women “females”, but usually when they do refer to them as that, they’re almost always d***ebags.” Says one user. Another use points out that any term used as a noun instead of a adjective can come off as offensive (a jew vs a Jewish baker, a female vs female singer, etc.)
10. No Offense
If you have to say “these words”no offense” before saying something, it’s probably best not to say them.
11. Another Pre Qualifying Phrase
Similar to no offense, another statement that is guaranteed to lead to a negative outcome is: “not to be rude.”
12. But Wait There’s More
Yet another phrase that should never be used when speaking with another person is: “don’t be mad, but…” Another guarantee for others to stop listening.
13. Empath
“Empath. Anyone calling themselves an empath and my ears go off.” Shares a writer. Others joke that if they were truly empaths, they’d know to be quiet when someone doesn’t want to hear it.
14. I’m a Nice Guy
“When someone tells me they’re a nice guy. That’s generally an excuse for future unwarranted behavior.” Never trust the ones that flaunt their “niceness.”
15. We’re Really Important
“When a company talks about themselves and uses the word ‘really’. As in, at company x, we’re really trying to innovate the biotech space etc.” Shares a Redditor. Adding the word really makes it feel ingenuine.
16. Manifesting
Some people on Reddit hate the word manifest and what it entails. “Just tell me you’re a wealthy person who posts too much on Linkedin about “the hustle/grind/mindset”.” Shares a user.
17. My Truth
A Redditor shares that a person talking about their “truth” is usually talking about their own delusions that others don’t understand.
18. Completely Wrong
Rather than a mispronunciation, some phrases get completely botched. For example, “intensive purposes” instead of intents and purposes.
19. Blanket Statements
“Anytime someone blanket statements way too broadly – all men, all women etc etc hate when women blame every man, hate when men blame all women.” Shares a writer. These types of statements tend to be very over-generalized.
20. Kids These Days
Many parents cringe at: “”Teenagers/ children THESE DAYS”. As if people haven’t complained about teenagers/ children since the dawn of time.” Shares a user. Yep, kids can be annoying, no matter what era.
21. Annoyingly Optimistic
“Everything happens for a reason. Yah tell that to a parent who’s child has cancer.” Shares a writer. For someone suffering, these words are not typically encouraging.
12 Things That Totally Creep People Out
Many people have enough intuition (or a sixth sense) to know when a person is a total creep. They’ll start getting that “stranger danger” sense and know they should get out of their current situation.
12 Things That Totally Creep People Out
10 Phrases That Make People Lose All Respect and Stop Listening
Some words are better not said, and the Reddit community agrees. In a recent thread, someone asks, “What’s a word that people use that you immediately disregard everything they say after that?”
10 Phrases That Make People Lose All Respect and Stop Listening
15 Things That Make You Look Ridiculous, No Matter Who You Are
We are all human. Whether you’re rich, poor, tall, short, skinny, or fat, there are some things that every single person on the planet looks ridiculous doing.
15 Things That Make You Look Ridiculous, No Matter Who You Are
First World Problems: 15 Mild Inconveniences That People Hate
We can all agree that many of the things that we find annoying in the Western world are pretty laughable. Yet, that doesn’t keep us from getting annoyed when we face certain inconveniences (it’s human nature). In reality, of course, we are blessed to have such problems.
First World Problems: 15 Mild Inconveniences That People Hate
15 Trashy Guilty Pleasures People Admittedly Indulge In
We all have those guilty pleasures that are fun to indulge in when we need time to recoup and de-stress. Some are more innocent than others and may be harder to admit to.
