keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense.
greene, robert. The 48 Laws of Power.
Honesty is actually a blunt instrument, which bloodies more than it cuts. Your honesty is likely to offend people; it is much more prudent to tailor your words, telling people what they want to hear rather than the coarse and ugly truth of what you feel and think. More important, by being unabashedly open you make yourself so predictable and familiar that is is almost impossible to respect or fear you, and power will not accrue to a person who cannot inspire such emotions.
greene, robert. The 48 Laws of Power.