How to be polite in difficult situations

Everyone in life should try and avoid confrontations and altercations.

- Birjees Hussain

These can be both physical and verbal and both can lead to a breakdown in relationships at home and in the workplace. Getting into any kind of tense discussion can have the potential to become volatile between both parties. Those who are aware of the potential for disaster or always wish to be polite have the tendency to use subtle language to avoid conflict. The words say one thing but if you are astute and suspicious they could mean another.

Generally, in order to understand the real meaning of certain English phrases, you either need to be a native speaker of the language or at least have a very good grasp of it. Otherwise, you may take the phrase at its literal meaning. For example, if someone were to say to you, ‘Well that went well’, it doesn’t mean that it went well. It’s a polite and somewhat sarcastic way of saying that it was a disaster. Now, if someone calls you Sherlock or Einstein, it’s not a compliment. It's actually a sarcastic way of saying you're clueless (hence the Sherlock reference) or you're not very clever (hence the Einstein reference).