If someone insults you, should you say something – or nothing at all?

If you’ve ever been put on the spot or caught off guard by an insulting comment – you probably came up with the perfect response – after the fact...

 Kathleen Reardon, author of “Comebacks at Work,” says mastering our response technique in a tense situation is a skill that can have a real impact on the offender. Here are a few comeback scenarios:

• “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.” Your response could be “It’s better than anything YOU came up with.” That’s not very effective. A better response would be “Lots of great ideas sound stupid at first, just hear me out.”

• “You are so stubborn.” Instead of digging in, a good response would be “That’s right, I’m PERSISTANT, this is important and I want to work it out.” Redefine their negative word.

• “Why is this place such a pigsty?” Resist launching into a laundry list of what you were doing all day. In a situation like this it’s better to pause and make eye contact. That lets the other person know that statement was insensitive - more so than words. Letting their negative words echo is often more effective than any comeback you could come up with.