No one can take power from you unless you give it to them, but people try to get you to relinquish power through verbal intimidation. Jay Morrisey shares his anti-intimidation advice, which can easily apply if you find yourself in a contentious customer service situation.
This is when the instigator asks a question, and immediately cuts into your answer with the next question. The result of this technique is that the target does not have a chance to explain their answers at all, leaving them scared about what the next question may be… If someone tries cutting-in on your responses. Simply pause, then politely reply: I’ll answer your next question, when I’m done with this one.
AmEx used this on me back in my foolish years when I was behind on some credit card debt. The guy who called kept cutting me off and made me feel very small. I wished I had known how to slow down the line of attack at the time. What other verbal intimidation tactics have you experienced, and how do you fight back against them?
