Page 137 - Effective Communication Skills Mastery Bible 4 Books in 1 Boxset by Tuhovsky, Ian

negative emotional states, which block your creativity and

skill of choosing perfect words.

When you distance yourself, you do not care what other

people say and you are able to quickly and coherently respond

to someone else’s words. Remember, whatever people say,
they are only words! For the most part, people do not mean

what they say and do it only for the purposes listed above.

Accept this fact as well as your flaws and no one will be able

to make you feel unpleasant emotions without your

permission.

2. Instead of taking things personally, you need

relaxation, calmness and peace—that’s the only state of

mind where sharp retorts come naturally. Moreover, the

mere act of responding to someone in a nervous way

disqualifies your retort and does not allow it to get on the

podium. Imagine a stressful person, who stuttering and
sweating tries to stammer a droll retort! It would not pass and

the end result would be ridiculing the poor guy. Say what you

have to say with relaxation and peace and certainly it will

sound as it should.

3. Look serious while giving a retort. Do not laugh while

speaking. When you’re serious, it increases the effect and

makes everyone around even more amused. Note that jokes

told in a serious tone are usually funnier than those told by a

laughing person. Do some acting and throw your retort
suddenly, with a deadly seriousness. Of course, this rule has its

exceptions, as you will read in following paragraphs.

4. A good retort usually goes outside the box in which a

message preceding the retort is set. It is supposed to be