It's hard when you're trying to be honest with a person, but you think you're coming off sounding like a shallow moron.

When you really mean that you'll do something to help a person, and that you're not just offering to sound polite, what's the key to making that sound convincing?

I'm struggling to figure out what is making me not be taken seriously.

I don't make offers lightly; and I only make promises on the rarest of occasions. So I guess it's a little unnerving to be sluffed off. It's not maliciously done, and the person might think they shouldn't be a bother, but it still pains me. I guess I have enough of an ego still that it's a little wounding.

And if you say, "Hey, I don't do this very often at all," you sound like a braggart at best, and a superficial liar at worst.

It makes me overcompensate and offer even more, which could easily be construed as overbearing and obnoxious.

But just I don't know how to make certain people believe me.

It's hard to be in a position where you actually want to help someone, and really think you actually could for a change, and seemingly not be believed as genuine.

If it was anything less than really important, I would shrug it off and return to my misanthropic ways. But this is important.

Really, I'm serious.

It was better when I just didn't care about most everyone.