If you’ve ever felt like you were being spoken down to at work, you’re certainly not alone. Sadly, many bosses, and sometimes even colleagues, often feel they can lord it over you and make you feel small. However, one man who has worked in HR for 15 years has shared how to respond if someone is trying to be condescending.
Yasar Ahmad, who shares his tips and tricks on TikTok, explained that you should never let anyone “talk down to you” by responding with some quick-fire lines that will catch the person being negative towards you totally off guard.
As part of his caption, he wrote: “Next time – don’t shrink. Don’t snap. Say this one line and watch them squirm. It’s simple. It’s science. It puts the power back in your hands”.
He said that you shouldn’t let someone being rude to you “chip away at your confidence”. He urged: “Don’t match their tone, redirect the energy.”
He added: “When someone says, ‘Oh well, that was obvious, I thought you knew that already,’ you say, ‘Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Can you repeat that for me’?
“Here’s what happens. Now they feel the heat. Now they have to think; now they have to own their tone. What you’re doing here is, it’s called Cognitive Load Theory. The more mental effort you put on them, the less power they have to control you”.
Yasar then gave tips for “if it [the situation] keeps going”. He said you should ask, “Was that meant to be helpful, or was it just a dig?”
He said: “Say it calm, say it clear, say it once. This shifts the focus back on their intent, and not your reaction. When you respond with poise, not panic, you stay in control.
“You keep your edge, and you let them do the sweating. Remember, you don’t need to win the moment – you need to win the room”.
In another video, Yasar explained that there is one word you can use to stop annoying colleagues from continuing to bother you.
When you really want to say “f*** you,” he recommended you say something else. The “short, sharp and deadly” word is a game-changer when it comes to shutting down annoying colleagues.
Yasar shared the magic word is “noted”. There is “no follow-up required” from the person you’re emailing either, so it’s a win-win situation.
Another thing you can type is: “Thanks for your input, I’ll take it from here,” which Yasar says translates to “You’ve done enough; sit down”.
The third thing you can use to convey your annoyance via email is: “If that’s how you’d like to proceed, I’ll document accordingly”. He joked that this means you’ve “lawyered them without a lawyer”.
Number four is: “Let’s agree to disagree and escalate if needed”. Yasar joked that this is “corporate for ‘this conversation is over, and if you wanna try me, then try me’.”
He finished the video by saying: “None of these raise your voice, none of these get you fired. All of these say exactly what you mean. Professional doesn’t mean passive. It just means calculated”.
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