Kathleen Reardon, author of Comebacks at Work

Kathleen Reardon recognizes we all have “brain freezes.” She teaches us how to overcome  an awkward situation or an insulting situation or an untenable one. She thinks comebacks are quick responses on the fly.

Kathleen is the author of Comebacks at Work: Using Conversation to Master Confrontation.

Kathleen draws the difference between offense and insult. An offense is accidental while an insult is on purpose. Part of comebacks is giving the other person the benefit of doubt about what s/he said.

Communication is imperfect, according to Kathleen. Each of us is at least 75% responsible for how people respond to us by limiting or expanding other people’s options to how they respond to us.

Tweeking what people say can improve communication. For example, using persistent instead of stubborn when describing another person.

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