You have the right to remain silent!
No, you aren’t under arrest.
Intentional Silence
Keeping your mouth shut when you feel you should say something because you think it is expected of you. Sometimes we think we have to say something. We owe it to someone to respond. There are certain societal expectations. You are expected to answer your phone. You are expected to answer the door. You are expected to respond to accusations. But I am here to tell you that you have the right to remain silent.
Say nothing.
If someone asks you a question or makes a demand on you, and you don’t want to answer or give in to their demands, you don’t have to do it.
You don’t have to answer to anyone.
You don’t have to explain yourself.
You don’t have to acknowledge anyone.
Won’t people think I am rude? Who cares?
Isn’t it impolite to ignore people? Where is the rule?
Won’t people hate me if refuse to answer them? So what?
Against our culture.
Yes, intentional silence goes against our culture. But if you are feeling attacked, this is a great method of self defense. It gives you self control. Other people don’t know how to react. If you remain silent, they won’t know what to do as they, like all of us, have been conditioned to respond. If you don’t respond, they will feel threatened and insecure. This is a sure way to calm down even the greatest confrontations.
Stare and glare.
A great way to support silence is to either stare or glare with your silence. To stare is to simply blank, emotionless expression. With the glare, you add a sneer which says you are annoyed. Silence, sneer, glare all say you disapprove.
When to be silent
Any verbal attack is an opportunity for the silent treatment. If someone is verbally attacking you, and you want to keep the situation under control, this is a good time for silence.
It is especially good for criticism, invalidation and hostile remarks.
Yeah!
Smile for me!
Lisa Y coaching
Tell me about using intentional silence. www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach