The purpose of this exercise is to support you in re-training your response time to some of the most common everyday situations of when we say No or Don't or Stop.

We have given you some possible wordings of the responses to these situations, but please don't see these as absolute and definitive.They are a start.

Also, the use of word 'please' depends on certain situations and we have no specific rule for this. We suggest you determine if the specific circumstance you find yourself in requires a gentler approach, then use is as it does soften the statement.  

We also suggest that if you have alternative responses that work better for you then please use those. Ultimately, the aim of this process is to support you in finding a respectful and positive response that will get you the cooperation you require, at no expense to yourself.

We have also found that the more 'fluent' and confident you are in your alternative responses (ie there is no hesitation in your response), then the more powerful your communication will be.

That is why we have designed the following exercise to help you learn some responses so they are on the tip of your tongue.

Exercise 1: I will read out a list of negative statements, with a pause of 4 seconds before I share what I feel could be an appropriate response. The 4 second pause is an opportunity for you to practice your own response.  Then I will read out the next negative statement and wait another 4 seconds before sharing another appropriate response.

Exercise 2: I will read out a list of negative statements with a pause of 3 seconds before moving on to the next statement (I will not be reading out the appropriate response. This exercise is best used when you are already familiar with your appropriate responses and just want to test yourself quickly)

Exercise 3: I will read out the same list of negative statements as above in exercise 2 but in a different order and with decreased timing.