An attorney explains how to stop arguments before they start: ask "What did you hear?" instead of defending what you said. Most small disputes come from the gap between what was said and what was heard, filtered through emotion and stress.
As an attorney, before you argue, ask this. Instead of responding, "That's not what I said," or "I didn't say that," the next time they tell you what you did wrong, you're going to ask the question, "Then what did you hear?" Not, "Then tell me what I said." You ask the question, "What did you hear?" See, most everyday little disagreements aren't about what was said, but what was heard. We're all filtering things through our own emotions and stress. And when you ask the question, "What did you hear?" It stops you from pushing and forcing down your own interpretation of what you said. And it also allows you to clear it up. Like, "I can see how it sounded that way. What I meant to say was..." or "What I intended to say was..." and it'll stop an argument before it even happens. So try that and follow me.
