Verbal Judo: Difference between revisions

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The trope name comes from the [[Real Life]] technique and book by George Thompson, which are basically about how to achieve this trope. Thompson contrasted it with "verbal karate", where you respond to hostility with hostility and only escalate the situation -- this being the way people are more often naturally inclined to react. "Verbal Judo" or [[wikipedia:Verbal self defense|"verbal self-defence"]] is defined more broadly in real-life usage, but the trope is defined only as stated above.

Compare [[Talking the Monster To Death]]. Has only a little in common with [[Politeness Judo]]. Contrast [[Break Them By Talking]], a less nice technique, though it ''could'' theoretically overlap with this. Situations where this might be needed could involve [[Hair-Trigger Temper]] or [[Berserk Button]]; if it involves a [[Powder Keg Crowd]] or other mob, it's probably also an instance of [[Shaming the Mob]]. This makes a good technique for the [[Badass Pacifist]].

Compare [[Talking the Monster to Death]]. Has only a little in common with [[Politeness Judo]]. Contrast [[Break Them by Talking]], a less nice technique, though it ''could'' theoretically overlap with this. Situations where this might be needed could involve [[Hair-Trigger Temper]] or [[Berserk Button]]; if it involves a [[Powder Keg Crowd]] or other mob, it's probably also an instance of [[Shaming the Mob]]. This makes a good technique for the [[Badass Pacifist]].

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* In ''For the Emperor'', Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain]] has been assigned to a regiment with considerable internal tension, and soon finds himself facing a violent fight bordering on riot among the soldiers. When they start fighting the provosts sent to quell the fight as well, he's about to sneak out, but someone shouts out to him and attracts everyone's attention to him. Knowing trying to flee now would only get him killed, he suddenly starts giving orders for the troopers to clean the mess, making them pause in surprise and realise how out of hand the situation has got, and giving a perfect example of the confusion strategy. A [[That's an Order]] later, Cain having successfully asserted authority, the situation becomes easy to deal with.

* On the [[Discworld]], Sam Vimes is canny and experienced enough to have pulled this off a couple of times.

** In ''[[Discworld ~~(Literature)~~/Night Watch|Night Watch]]'', Vimes finds himself in Ankh-Morpork of the past and commanding a Watch house at a time when there's widespread dissent and angry mobs are starting to coalesce around all Watch houses. Knowing a riot is just waiting to happen, he tells his men to not carry weapons but instead visibly do ordinary harmless things in the yard to avoid their looking to the surrounding people like [[Faceless Goons]]. When he himself confronts the mob, it's calmly and while lighting a smoke, and he makes sure that when a drunken troublemaker tries to break a bottle in his hand and only ends up hurting himself, the scene everyone sees is Vimes harmlessly standing at a distance lighting a smoke, with no possibility for even a mob to mistake him as having attacked. Then he takes the man in to be treated for the wound. His Watch house ends up being the only one that doesn't suffer a riot that night.

** In ''[[Discworld/Night Watch|Night Watch]]'', Vimes finds himself in Ankh-Morpork of the past and commanding a Watch house at a time when there's widespread dissent and angry mobs are starting to coalesce around all Watch houses. Knowing a riot is just waiting to happen, he tells his men to not carry weapons but instead visibly do ordinary harmless things in the yard to avoid their looking to the surrounding people like [[Faceless Goons]]. When he himself confronts the mob, it's calmly and while lighting a smoke, and he makes sure that when a drunken troublemaker tries to break a bottle in his hand and only ends up hurting himself, the scene everyone sees is Vimes harmlessly standing at a distance lighting a smoke, with no possibility for even a mob to mistake him as having attacked. Then he takes the man in to be treated for the wound. His Watch house ends up being the only one that doesn't suffer a riot that night.

** In ''[[Discworld ~~(Literature)~~/Snuff|Snuff]]'', Vimes does this ''after'' deliberately accepting the challenge to a fight from an aggressive local blacksmith in the countryside who's taking issue with his noble status. Even before the fight starts, he makes the man uncertain about whether he's getting in over his head, and once it does start, he only needs to show his street fighting skills with a few moves before quietly suggesting they stop the fight there before it gets real so that the other can at least save his face... both socially and literally.

** In ''[[Discworld/Snuff|Snuff]]'', Vimes does this ''after'' deliberately accepting the challenge to a fight from an aggressive local blacksmith in the countryside who's taking issue with his noble status. Even before the fight starts, he makes the man uncertain about whether he's getting in over his head, and once it does start, he only needs to show his street fighting skills with a few moves before quietly suggesting they stop the fight there before it gets real so that the other can at least save his face... both socially and literally.

* In ''[[Black House]]'' by [[Stephen King]] and [[Peter Straub]], Judy Marshall's husband tells a story about her that involves her having prevented a fight between two strangers after a car accident. The driver of one car is aggressively bearing down on the other, who is only provoking him by backing off. Marshall gets so angry at the aggressive man for his being about get into a fight he'll regret that she walks up to him and berates him about it, surprising him and ultimately calming him down.

* In [[Kim]], Kim defends himself and the Red Lama by making fun of potential aggressors.

* One of [[Jeeves and Wooster (~~Literature~~)|Jeeves]]' many superpowers. Just when things look blackest, he'll often settle everything by coming out of nowhere and politely making a brilliant suggestion or giving everyone the wrong impression.

* One of [[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves]]' many superpowers. Just when things look blackest, he'll often settle everything by coming out of nowhere and politely making a brilliant suggestion or giving everyone the wrong impression.

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

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* Delia of [[In Plain Sight]] pulls off one of these brilliantly when a Neo-Nazi potential witness tries to pick a fight with her.

{{quote| '''Delia''': You don't have to sign a thing. You can rant, and spew your hate, take a swing at me for all I care. I'd like that, actually. I'd like to see this entire office pin your cheek to the cold, hard floor and before you can get up from under my shoe, your deal's blown, and you're locked up where no one can protect your sorry ass. (steps closer) So, please, Ms. Owens, I'm begging you: don't sign.}}

* In ''[[Justified (TV)|Justified]]'', Donovan storms into Duffy's trailer and threatens to kill Quarles for murdering his friend Brady. Quarles talks down Donovan by telling him about how {{spoiler|his father forced him into prostitution as a young man, and how Theo Tonin adopted him. Donovan lowers his gun, and a tearful Quarles embraces him as he starts crying. Unfortunately, we see Donovan bound and gagged in Quarles' bathroom at the end of the episode, suggesting that Quarles plans to torture and kill him just as he did Brady.}}

* In ''[[Justified (TV series)|Justified]]'', Donovan storms into Duffy's trailer and threatens to kill Quarles for murdering his friend Brady. Quarles talks down Donovan by telling him about how {{spoiler|his father forced him into prostitution as a young man, and how Theo Tonin adopted him. Donovan lowers his gun, and a tearful Quarles embraces him as he starts crying. Unfortunately, we see Donovan bound and gagged in Quarles' bathroom at the end of the episode, suggesting that Quarles plans to torture and kill him just as he did Brady.}}

== [[Video Games]] ==

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== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Fluttershy from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic ~~(Animation)~~|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'':

* Fluttershy from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'':

** In "Elements of Harmony", she does a nonverbal version, calming down an angry manticore by walking right up to him and making friendly gestures. It turns out he's just angry [[Rampage From a Nail|because of a thorn in his paw.]]

** An almost completely different example in "Dragonshy": Rainbow Dash pulls a [[Leeroy Jenkins]] on the giant dragon and provokes him to attack the ponies. [[Cowardly Lion|Fluttershy]], finally forgetting her own fear of dragons when she sees her friends being attacked, flies right up to his face and starts telling him off for it, instantly changing the anger to shocked surprise. Combining the surprise effect with that of her [[Death Glare]] and absolutely steely assertiveness, she eventually has him crying and then leaving peacefully.