. There is a trick that can instantly make you strong, which is to pause for one or two seconds after someone praises you or is being polite before you respond. In that one or two seconds, they will start to wonder if they said something wrong. After that pause, regardless of what you say, they will think about whether your words are sincere or just polite, whether you are genuinely happy or just pretending to be happy. They will feel that you have some depth and are not easily fooled. Of course, you need to maintain a steady expression and not show confusion, happiness, or distress. You can count to two in your mind before speaking, and then observe whether they change the topic or try to please you. If they do, it indicates that you are the stronger party in the conversation. Silence is a very useful tool; when chatting, if the other person speaks very quickly, you should remain silent at appropriate times, pause often, and slow down the rhythm of the conversation. If the other person does not respect you much, you should also be more silent to convey your indifference to them. If the topic of conversation is very sensitive and the other person is pressuring you to make a decision, you should remain silent, think it through before speaking, and sometimes it’s even better not to say anything after you’ve thought it through. Some people are particularly talkative and always have endless things to say, but being talkative does not mean they are articulate. When can they control the pace of the conversation, and when does that indicate they have mastered it?