Haritosh SrivastavFounder & Head Coach, Confident Storytelling Hub

How to protect your boundary in professional communication

24 Mar 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:49

In this instructional segment, the speaker emphasizes the need to maintain respectful tone in workplace conversations and provides three concrete alternative statements to use when someone speaks disrespectfully. The first alternative, "I'm happy to talk, but not in that tone," signals openness to dialogue while rejecting the current tone. The second, "Can we try that again in a different, calmer tone," asks the speaker to reset their approach with more respect. The third, "I am open to feedback but not open to disrespect," draws a clear line that feedback is welcome but disrespect is not tolerated. These phrasing options serve as practical tools for professionals to assert boundaries without escalating conflict.

Chapters

Hey, don't talk to me like that! I'm very sure you would have had that thought in your mind, but in a professional setting you can't say like that. So I'm giving you 3 alternative ways you can say the same thing. Number 1, I'm happy to talk, but not in that tone. This tells them that, hey, I'm open to conversation, but maybe the way you said is not okay with me. Number 2, can we try that again in a different calmer tone. Now this tells them that, okay, they need to reset the way they are talking and come with more respect. And number 3, I am open to feedback but not open to disrespect. Now this sets a clear boundary that yes, you want to hear what they have the perspective, but you have a limit and they need to respect that.