As bestselling author Suzette Haden Elgin proves, you don't have to live your life on red alert. With her Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense techniques, you'll be able to respond clearly to hostile comments from others--or deliver necessary negative messages of your own--without sacrificing your dignity or principles. You'll learn to:

• Keep domestic disagreements from escalating
• Deliver criticism to coworkers, employers, or employees
• Handle aggressive, negative comments about race, politics, or religion
• Provide discipline without increasing hostility
• Use language that reduces tension and creates rapport in every situation