Going Forward
In every hostile-language situation you have a broad range of responses at your disposal, from fierce anger at one extreme to silence at the other. Different responses have different consequences. The consequences of either the amygdala-driven fight-or-flight response, or the traditional responses of counterattack and pleading and debate, are rarely satisfactory. The consequences of chronic exposure to hostile language literally threaten your life and the lives of everyone else one involved. You don't have to go that route. Use verbal self-defense instead.
About the Author
Suzette Haden Elgin, Ph.D., is an expert in applied psycholinguistics and is the founder of the Ozark Center for Language Studies (OCLS). OCLS offers a complete line of verbal self-defense products and services; for more information, contact Suzette directly. She is the author of the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense series, including: How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable, You Can't Say That To Me!, and more than a dozen other books and audio programs. You can also find a lot of information on verbal self-defense in her recent The Grandmother Principles and in her novels, which aren't part of the series. Go to http://www.sfwa.org/members/elgin for links and details.
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Books by Suzette Haden Elgin include:
- You Can't Say That to Me!: Stopping the Pain of Verbal Abuse - An 8-Step Program Paperback
- How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable: Getting Your Point Across With the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense Paperback
- The Gentle Art of Communicating With Kids Paperback
- The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense at Work Paperback
- The Gentle Art of Written Self-Defense Hardcover
- GenderSpeak: Men, Women, and the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense Paperback
- The Grandmother Principles Hardcover
- How to Turn the Other Cheek and Still Survive in Today's World Paperback
- Mastering the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense Audio Program
- Staying Well With the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense Hardcover
- Try to Feel It My Way : New Help for Touch Dominant People and Those Who Care About Them Paperback
- Businessspeak: Using the Gentle Art of Verbal Persuasion to Get What You Want at Work Paperback
- The Language Imperative: How Learning Languages Can Enrich Your Life and Expand Your Mind Hardcover