 It's one of the most fundamental cornerstones in all human relationships. It doesn't matter whether the relationship is deeply personal or intimate, or whether it's with a co-worker, boss, or someone you may wish to do business with, trust is important. However, not everyone understands the vitality of trust. Many individuals treat the issue of trust with levity, forgetting that when trust is broken, it is difficult to repair it. In this video, I will share with you 9 signs that someone is not trustworthy. 1. They don't open up. After a few meetings, an average person usually opens up and starts talking about themselves, but people who cannot be trusted will never talk about themselves. Instead, this set of people will ask you questions and make you open up even more. Studies have proven that people who open up are usually trustworthy. Since no one exposes themselves quickly to their enemies, they see you as a friend, which is why they are free to discuss themselves with you. But beware of those who never open up to you that may not be trustworthy. 2. They lie a lot. What is the one thing we all deserve from those we trust? Honesty. If someone is lying to you and you witness them doing it not only to you, but to others, do not ignore this. One small lie will eventually lead to even bigger ones and you will soon be the fly cut up in the spider's web. If you find out that someone is constantly lying to you, don't just sweep it under the rug, or give in to whatever excuse they give to you. Give that person the boot because they cannot be trusted. Furthermore, don't ever trust the person who deliberately lies to someone else in your presence because you might be next. 3. They are gossips. The truth is, almost everyone talks about other people to a certain extent when they are not present. Nevertheless, the question is, what is being said? Why is it being discussed and in what manner? If someone speaks badly to you about people all the time, then probably that person will also talk about you when they have the chance. Meanwhile, if someone always comes to you to tell you about what other people said about you, their trustworthiness is questionable as well. Hence, you must be careful with anyone who always brings the issues other people to the table during conversations. 4. They are two-faced. We've all come across our fair share of this type of behavior. When a person is with you, they will be as pleasant as pie. But when your back is turned, they won't think twice about criticizing what you do and say. They won't hold back on sharing any juicy nuggets of gossip about you. This set of individuals are pretenders that will make you feel good about yourself but join others to condemn you in public. For instance, a friend who compliments your looks in private yet joins others to run you down cannot be trusted. In some cases, they will even try to avoid you in public. As soon as you detect this kind of behavior, it's time to make a sharp exit from the relationship to protect yourself. 5. They turn their back on you in public. When you're alone or in unfamiliar situation with this type of person, you'll find they are friendly and enjoy your company, but contrast. When you find yourself among their crowd or among people whom they are trying to impress, they won't give you the time of day. They will act to see if you have barely ever met. This kind of behavior indicates that they are trying to get something from you in some way or the other. Their trust in you is just superficial. When they have reached what they want, or it's clear to them that they are not going to succeed in getting it, they will drop you without thinking twice. 6. They can't keep secrets. Do you remember those times when you were much younger, when you swore a close friend to secrecy? When they spilled the beans to others, how did you feel, pained and betrayed? Even though you were not an adult dad, I bet you learned a lesson or two about confidentiality, to be careful who you tell your secrets and not to say people's secrets to others. One way to know if a person can be trusted is how well they are able to keep the things you confidentially tell them to themselves. Also, if a person is keen to share someone else's confidence with you, you can be sure of their untrustworthiness. Untrustworthy people relish the opportunity to share juicy nuggets of information that they have been told in confidence. They would trade confidentiality with their need to be noticed and acknowledged. 7. They are not committed. Tartiness and crookedness are apparent indicators that an individual has no respect for the value of your time. A trustworthy person will make an effort to keep to words and appointment. Indeed, some delays are unavoidable, but making a quick call or sending a brief message is the obvious thing to do when it happens. However, if a person often shows up late without making any effort to let you know that they're delayed or worse still, fails to turn up at all. That's a clear sign that they can be trusted to fulfill their commitments. If they change or cancel plans without letting others know, they clearly don't understand the value of other people's time. They don't see that their actions impact others. In business and every aspect of life, it is incredibly unprofessional behavior which will undermine any trust. 8. They are unstable. Although people tend to confuse both of them, being indecisive is widely different from being fickle. Let's face it, most of us are uncertain when it comes to making decisions, like choosing from a menu with too many tempting options. And of course, we all change our minds now and again. Occasionally, even about important issues, the difference with fickle people is that you can never trust any of the other decisions, no matter how important the case being considered. Their emotional state can be volatile and the outcome of their choices shows a pattern of inconsistency. Not only that, a fickle person will make promises they quickly come to regret and then retract at the last moment. Fickle-minded individuals are easily influenced and given to external factors rather than stand their ground. A vividly fluctuating emotional state that leads to constant changes of mind or the inability to make a decision and stick to it, however, means that there is no anchor on which to base your trust. 9. They are friends to your enemy Yeah, you heard me correctly. Have you heard of the saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and the friend of my enemy is my enemy? Well, don't get me wrong. Although it is not advisable to label anyone as your enemy or to attempt to make your friends hate someone simply because you don't like them. However, if someone had betrayed you before, it is only regular that you don't want them around. You may even label them as your enemies and as much as you can, try to be civil, yet careful with them. Hence, if someone you are close and who is aware of your feelings towards the said enemy decided to become friends with them, it is only standard that you are careful around them because the truth is that they cannot be trusted. I wish to end with this piece of quote from popular businessman, best-selling author and educator, Stephen Covey, which says, in trust is the glue of life. It is the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It is the foundational principle that holds relationships.