“It’s all good. I just need a moment here. " “Alright, I just needed to take a breath there. You were saying?” “Can you give me a second? Thanks. "
If someone sends you a rude text, say you’re on break from technology and that you’re going to turn off your phone. If a person makes a rude comment at work, you can tell them you have to go work on an important project. If a relative is giving you a hard time, you can let them know you made plans with your friends and leave.
“I know I take a while to speak up. I’m secretly a time traveler, you know. I could be anywhere! Any era, even!” “Well, jokes aren’t my strong point. Netflix isn’t going to sign me on for a standup special anytime soon!” “Yeah, I do speak kinda loud. I’ve got bionic lungs. "
“Sorry I’m late. I checked all of the traffic reports, but there was an accident. Here’s the news report. " “We’re out of ice cream because the whole county is facing a dairy shortage. " “I do care. I just can’t come over because my teacher scheduled a ton of finals. "
“I think I see my friends over there! I should go catch up with them. " “Hey! Thanks for sticking up for me. I’m just going to let it slide. " “How’s it going? Can I just hang out with you for a bit? It was getting kind of heated. "
“I’ve been nothing but respectful here. Would you mind returning the favor?” “Hey, I’m not blaming anyone. Can we not point fingers?” “I’ve listened to you for a while. Is it okay if I speak now?”
“I really need courteous language here. I can’t stand behind name-calling. " “I’m a big fan of non-violent communication. I respond best to that style!” “If I’m going to continue this conversation, I need someone else to step in. "
“The way you said that really hurt. Could you rephrase it?” “I’m disappointed by that remark. I’m just brainstorming for our project. " “I’m really bothered by how you put that. I’m just trying out a new style and wanted to express my creative side. "
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like me. I’m actually really outgoing. " “I’ll overlook that! That doesn’t describe me at all. Then again, we just met!” “That’s not a word choice I would use. Neither would my friends!”
“Hey, have you had a rough morning? We’ve all been there. " “Are you okay? You sound really frustrated. " “How’s your day been going so far? It kind of seems like you’ve got a lot going on. "
“I agree with a lot of what you said. I do think that the prices could be cheaper. " “You don’t think pizzerias shouldn’t have salad bars? I’m sure a lot of other people agree! Maybe you can open your own restaurant?” “You’re making a lot of solid points about local policies. I bet you’d make a big impact at our town hall. "
“Yeah, I think the music is really loud in this club, too. I’ll go speak to the DJ. " “I know you want to impress everyone at the family reunion, but I think you’re being really critical of me. Why don’t I tell you some of my accomplishments so you can chat about them?” “I know we’ve all got a big deadline to meet here. Why don’t we split up the tasks?”
“Yeah, this band is super popular. Of course, it’ll take forever to get in! What’s your favorite song of theirs?” “Let’s all remember we’re in this book club because we love to read! Why don’t we take another vote about this month’s topic?” “Hey, we’ve known each other for, what, ten years? I’m hoping to go for eleven, so why don’t we just call it a truce?”
