Turn the Volume Down The Scientist’s Lie Transforming anger into receptiveness

Turn the volume down… The Passive Voice— “Pretend that things happened on their own. You didn’t track mud across the living room floor. Mud was tracked across the living room floor.”

Turn the volume down… “The passive voice can help you describe wrongdoing by a friend or coworker while calming the audience. // Just don’t use the passive voice when you are the culprit. If your audience sees through your ruse, you want them thinking you’re just defending a coworker, not weaseling out of something yourself. Elected officials who say, “Mistakes were made,” don’t win votes.”

Turn the volume down… “Science determines the facts, and emotions would only get in the way. But as we have seen, deliberative argument has a touchier relationship with the facts.”

Turn the volume down… Set a backfire…be angry at yourself

Turn the volume down… The author mentions that he made a big mistake in a publication he worked with… He put Mt. Saint Helens in the wrong state! Very Embarrassing!!

Turn the volume down… The writer handled the situation with his boss very well. He “set a backfire” admitted ‘mea culpa’… and he got off the hook!

Turn the volume down… “Sigmund Freud said that making people laugh “relieves anxiety” by releasing impulses in a disciplined manner.” You can’t teach humor…

Turn the volume down… Urbane humor depends on an educated audience. Like a pun…it relies on word play. A: Would John Wayne? B: No, he would wax.

Turn the volume down… “Wit isn’t ha-ha funny either, just mildly amusing.” The wit of Ronald Reagan

Turn the volume down… Facetious humor— This is a joke that is supposed to make you laugh…

Turn the volume down… Banter—Funny back-and-forth…

Turn down the volume… “Banter was Cicero’s favorite kind of humor. // One of the many victims of his ridicule put a hit on him. Cicero literally bantered himself to death.”

Turn down the volume… “When you use deliberative argument, you might prefer to banter with concession. Elder: What are you barking at, pup? Young Man: I see a thief.

Turn down the volume… Lady Astor: Winston, if you were my husband I’d flavor your coffee with poison. Churchill: Madam, if I were your husband, I should drink it.

Turn down the volume… The Tools… -Passive Voice -Backfire -Humor -urbane, wit, facetious, banter