Q: I sometimes speak harshly to one who keeps arguing with nonsensical views, to shut the person up, and not waste my time.
A: You just need to stop listening if the person drones on, refusing to stop or change his view. There’s no need to be harsh or impatient. When the person knows you are not listening, the person will usually stop. You can put on earphones to show you are not listening – even if you are not really listening to anything! But before that, it is important to let the person know why his/her arguments are faulty.
Q: How can I handle useless speech?
A: Some speech is truly useless – such as gossiping, which can even be destructive. Discussions about problematic people should centre around how to help them. E.g. When friends are gossiping about another friend’s problem, you can immediately make it constructive by asking, ‘How can we help him/her?’ This would then not be useless but constructive.
Related Articles:
Chat on Harsh Speech
http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/07/chat-on-harsh-speech
Chat on Idle Talk
http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/07/chat-on-idle-talk