Craig Gray offers advice from a unique perspective. He is an internationally known Krav Maga Black Belt Instructor and a leading authority on leadership and conflict management. In his recent The Ocean & The Wave post, Gray offers us simple advice on how to react to a verbal attack. His formula puts the spotlight squarely on the speaker, invites reconsideration and reframing, and gives you as the responder a moment to catch your breath and think.
Gray writes (excerpt):
you can simply say:
“That’s interesting, why would you say something like that?”
…and then listen to what the person says.
After the person says what they need to you can then reflect it back to them. That may sound something like this:
“So what I’m hearing you say is this (repeat back to them what you thought they are said). Is that right?”