For example, saying something like, “I’m running late. I’d normally take the 101 to your place, but traffic was so bad that I decided to take the 10,” sounds unnatural because of all the details. You might instead say, “Hey, I’m walking to your place so I’ll be a few minutes late. ” On the flip side, try not to be too vague since it could sound like you’re hiding something. For example, saying something like, “I was busy,” or, “I got caught up,” might send up some red flags.
For example, if you’re staying late at work and just chatting with coworkers, you might say, “Hey, I’m still at work, so I won’t be home for a little while. ” As another example, if you’re hanging out with a group of people and your ex is there, you may send a text to your partner that just says, “I’m just hanging out with some friends. ”
For example, you might say something like, “There’s some bad traffic so I’m running a little late,” even if you haven’t even left yet. As another example, if you don’t want to go out with friends one night because you’re a little tired, you might send, “Sorry, I’m just SO exhausted I feel like I’m going to pass out. ”
For example, rather than saying, “Last night was really fun,” you could say something like, “I had so much fun last night. ” As another example, you might send, “I’m sorry I forgot about our plans” instead of saying, “It got so busy and time just flew by. ”
For example, you might say something like, “I’m late because I met up with friends and we lost track of time,” instead of saying “After getting together with my friends, we lost track of time and it made me run late. ” As another example, “I can’t come in today because I felt sick,” could sound like a lie. You should instead try, “I’m feeling sick right now, so I can’t come into work. ”
For example, you shouldn’t say, “I’m pretty sure I was out with friends that night. ” Instead, just say, “I went out to see some friends that night. ”
For example, rather than saying, “I’m so sorry I missed your birthday! I just had so much going on and it completely slipped my mind,” you might say something like, “OMG, I’m so sorry I forgot your B-Day. I’ve been so busy, but I hope you had a great day!” If the other person can see when you’re typing, it might be a red flag if they see you starting and stopping while you edit your message. Think about what you want to say beforehand so you can type it out all in one go.
For example, if you lie about being late, the person might ask why you’re delayed or when you think you’ll arrive. As another example, if you lied about being swamped at work, come up with a few answers for what was keeping you so busy.
Avoid leaving the message and saying something like, “Hey sorry, I was busy…” hours later since it’s a really common lie and you could easily get caught.
For example, saying something like, “Ugh the bus is running late,” and then saying a few minutes later, “I’m so sorry, the bus usually isn’t this late,” doesn’t sound as truthful as only mentioning it once.
