This is an interesting piece – definitely avoid to use them but use it as a reference to identify if someone use it against you. Dean and Marshall VanDruff talks about cheat conversation techniques. Some of them are really bad ways on introducing a conversational fight, such as:
QUESTION THE QUESTION / COMMENT:
A great lead-in for the technique of WISHFUL THINKING, or a method of delay giving yourself time to think of an answer.“Why do you ask that?” / “What makes you ask that?”
“What drives you to make such a statement?”
BRAIN SEIZURE:
A complex statement that paralyzes the brain.“What you inferred is not what you implied.”
“Your problem is that you are thinking in a linear versus configurational framework.”
“I’m not sure if I fail to disagree with that or not.”
REVERSE THE QUESTION:
Echo the question back or ask the other person a similar or difficult question. (This can be a valid technique if not used merely as a delay tactic.)“What do you think the answer to your question is?”
“How ’bout if I ask you a similar question?”
Not good to use, but fun to read.
Conversational Terrorism – How Not to Talk – [Dean and Marshall VanDruff]
