The classiest ways to tell someone off

Sometimes you get to the point where you feel like exploding at someone. It could be the telemarketer that called you for the third time during dinner; it could be someone that said something rude to one of your comments on Facebook, or it could be a customer service person that doesn’t know anything about customer service.

While exploding into a tirade of expletives will make you feel better, it’s probably not going to achieve the acquired outcome. Still, you are a person that is above calling someone a “#@#$er” but for your sense of self you can’t just let these people off completely free, so here are some amazing ways to tell someone off with class.

Kill them with kindness

You were probably told this a few times in your life, and it’s a great piece of advice. The key is to do it without a hint of sarcasm. Once mastered, this can be just as satisfying to do without lowering yourself.

Some great examples of this in use is if someone makes a rude comment to your post on Facebook. Their rudeness, or crudeness, doesn’t mean you have to fight fire with fire. Simply post something like “Thank you for your message, it’s always interesting to hear different points of view. Thanks for sharing yours”. It may look tame, but it will sting. When someone is rude on social media, their aim is to get a dramatic response. By not giving it to them but overly being nice will be as satisfying as blasting your horn at someone who’s done the wrong thing in traffic.

This method can also be used over the phone or in person. If a customer service person is ignoring, you or leaving you on hold for too long. When they finally come to you say “I understand that you are very busy, it seemed vital; I hope they are paying you enough, dear.” This simple sentence has shown them they were in the wrong, probably made them feel bad, and more importantly gave you the satisfaction without raising your voice.

Experts say the best thing you can do in a bad situation like the ones mentioned above is nothing. If you react immediately, then there is more of a chance to get upset. If you give yourself five before you respond, you will always be able to find the right words to drive a satisfactory response. Plus, if it’s an online comment you can make as many gestures as you want on the screen… Just make sure you’re not Skyping at the time.

What advice do you have for telling people off? What is your favourite ‘telling off’ story?