Without aggravation

So now that you're well into giving your speech so much more meaning, it's time for everyone else to get on board. Some of your conversation partners will simply adjust to your new register. The are more people than you think who are sensitive to and even unconsciously willing to adapt to their environment. Of course, there are also the die-hards, those who believe that the only way to drive a point home is to ram it down someone else's throat.

We all know someone like this, don't we? One tactic would be to simply ignore them. You know, go out of your way to not have to talk to them, or at least not any more than is absolutely necessary. As a tactic it may work, but as a strategy, it's pretty useless. You can't avoid everyone like this forever, so it's worth your while to start wearing them down. It's like the old German saying goes: dripping water can hollow out the stone. And that's the approach you have to take.

Oh, right ... that involves patience. Ooops. OK, I realize that patience is really not many of ours' long suits. That's something you have to work at. Remember, I said it was all very simple, but I did warn you it wouldn't be easy. After all, it's difficult enough trying to be aware of the types of words you're using, but to start working on others? Right. But, it's not too much to ask. While you're doing your part to lessen tension in the world, it doesn't hurt to simply remind others of what they are doing to the conversation by their own choice of words. Like everything else we're saying, this can be said as directly and as clearly as anything else, and it really doesn't matter who you're talking to. If you can't ask your boss, for example, to be a little less aggressive toward you, then I suggest you rethink your employment situation. I mean, is your job worth abuse? I know mine isn't and I have no idea why I should voluntarily submit to behavior I wouldn't accept in any other circumstance.

You see, part of this program entails simply becoming more aware of what you do and how you do it and also what others do and how they do that as well. If someone else speaks to you aggressively and you respond, you've already signaled that you felt spoken to. How often are people being verbally aggressive simply out of frustration? If you suspect that's the case, why not bring it up? If we're actually going to communicate with one another, I think we need to realize it's a two-way street, and everyone needs to take just enough time and make enough effort to recognize that.