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exploding at me won't work. I understand you're angry that you have to wait another couple of days, but those tactics don't work with me." |
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Tip 829: Use body language to end the insulting conversation. |
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Look bored. Yawn. Wave the person away with a flip of your hand. Continue your work or make an exit. Break eye contact. Your body should say, "I don't have time for such nonsense. Stop it." |
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Tip 830: Change the subject. |
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When the conversation grows uncomfortable, simply change the subject. No explanation or transition is necessary. |
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Tip 831: Clarify rather than counterattack when the other person jumps the gun. |
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A friendly competitor phoned me one day to say that she felt the need to write and publish a book to establish her authority as a consultant. She wanted to ask my advice about taking the steps involved. After I'd spent several minutes with her on the phone giving her the requested information, she asked me about literary agents. |
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"You really need agents," I said. "They can save you a lot of time in selling your manuscript. I work with two different agents, in fact, because they specialize." |
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"Would you mind sharing the name and phone number of one with me?" she asked. |
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I gave her the name of the agent who places my business books, and then said, "The other agency may not be interested in your book idea because they primarily handle TV and movie stars and other celebrity types, so" |
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"So which are you?" she cut me off. |
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Taken aback at the sarcastic insult, I finally continued my interrupted sentence, ". . . so if you're a business-book author, as I am, you don't get as much attention as the movie stars." |
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I could tell she regretted her insult immediately; obviously, she was no longer in a position to ask for additional information from menor was I in the mood to give it. |
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But I had clarified rather than counterattacked. As a result of her quick-witted insulting retort, she left the encounter looking rather foolish. In fact, embarrassed; she still ducks her head when we meet. |
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