Don't turn the other cheek and fume quietly; know what to say when someone throws out the snide backhanded "compliment," subtle insult, cruel criticism, or outright verbal blow. Inside these pages is an arsenal of tools for fending off that attack and neutralizing the harm spiteful words inflict. Learn to identify modes of verbal assault, such as laying blame, and to recognize when someone is about to launch a linguistic strike and the motivation behind it. Sample scripts prevent you from getting tongue-tied, and a progress journal helps you use voice and body language for maximum effect. Find out how to handle the eight most common types of verbal violence, and redirect and defuse potential verbal confrontations so skillfully that they rarely happen. Special suggestions are included for college students, men, and women, and for handling emergency situations such as an angry crowd.

For some employees, verbal abuse can be the everyday language of doing business. Defending yourself from these verbal abusers—calmly, professionally, and successfully—can be crucial to your on-the-job success. Nationally recognized linguistics expert and author Suzette Haden Elgin applies her acclaimed techniques for combating verbal attacks to common workplace situations. Powerful yet unthreatening, her proven strategies will help you recognize and defend yourself from verbal abuse—everything from casual obscenities and racist or sexist language to sarcasm, cutting jokes, and subtle put-downs. Richly illustrated with fully dramatizes scenarios and real-world examples, Dr. Elgin’s communication techniques will help you instantly take control of any verbal confrontation. You’ll also learn how to avoid “malpractice of the mouth” and sexual harassment; communicate sensitively and clearly with non-native English speakers; and project a strong, straightforward, and trustworthy image. You’ll find tips for handling sensitive issues via email and voice mail, advice on meeting the communication challenges that face home-based and virtual businesses, and plenty of “workouts” placed throughout the book to give you valuable opportunities to practice your new skills. The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense at Work is your roadmap through the potentially career-threatening minefields of workplace communication.

In this book, the author shows you how her revolutionary system of language behavior can guide you to better health and help you overcome stress-building hostility and develop strong social support networks; defuse tension, minimize conflict, and increase peace of mind; replace harmful negative thinking with healthful positive thinking; perceive yourself as someone in control rather than as a victim. In addition, you'll discover several simple techniques to help you feel in control over painful symptoms. You'll also see why your body's natural painkillers are more effective than any pain pill could be.

In this volume, the author extends her remarkable self-defense tactics against verbal abuse to the business world. Using fully dramatized scenarios that make effective business communications as exciting and suspenseful as a novel, she shows you how to quickly recognize verbal abuse ... gently defuse it ... and replace it with clear, courteous, effective communication.

Continues: The gentle art of verbal self defense. 1980.