716: No Time for Discussion

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Dave

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Zombie Cliche Lookout: Ending the Discussion

Today’s cliche isn’t going to be directly related to the zombie genre, but it still tends to come up in zombie stories a lot. I’m speaking, of course, of quickly ending, or at least extricating yourself from an argument or discussion. This is a skill many people – myself included – have had to develop and discover on our own in response to our needs. For me, it’s something I had to figure out at work in order to get anything actually done.

The hardest part of effectively ending a conversation is getting over the fact that you will be perceived as rude. That’s very hard for most of us to do, as it goes against many of our social mores. That said, it’s an important skill to have.

And how does it relate to zombie survival? People are going to be worried, panicked even. And when people get worried, many of them want to discuss their way through every potential iteration and response. This is a great way to get nothing done. As we have discussed many times in the past, the quickest way to get into trouble is to take no action whatsoever.

About this Episode:

Time to say goodbye to the basement. It’s been fun, but we need to move on. I’ll miss the shadows, of course, but what can you do?

Discussion Question: Discussion Enders

In today’s episode, I showed my favorite way to end an argument/discussion: simply getting up and walking away. But, as we discussed, there are many different tactics one can employ to put a stop to a pointless discussion. What do you use in your daily life? Anything that works well? Do you use one tactic for regular discussions, and a different one for arguments? How about fights?

11 thoughts on “716: No Time for Discussion”

  1. Regarding the Discussion Question: In a zombie apocalypse, there is one permanent way of ending a discussion Dave didn’t think of! 😀 That’s right, if you’re having a discussion with someone, and they turn and become a zombie, in between times you see them, no more discussion! 😀

    • Hah, that is a good point. Zombies aren’t known for their rhetorical ability.

  2. There don’t seem to be any typos for today! 😉

    • And there was much rejoicing.

  3. Vicky seems like she’s stuck, as if she knows something has to be done, but is uncertain as to what, or if she agrees with Clark and Barb’s apparent decision to get something done. 😀

    • Nice! That’s exactly what I’m going for. She’s vapor-locked. I picture Vicky as a generally intelligent and capable woman who is just completely overwhelmed by circumstances.

  4. Usually, to end a conversation with my wife I go wash the dishes… Or clean up anything at home… Just to show I’m busy doing something she won’t try to stop me from doing (it won’t work with watching sport on TV or video gaming obviously LOL).

    • I just saw a meme this morning that stated the wives can’t argue with their husbands when the husband is doing housework. I’m not sure how true that is. Anyone want to do some field testing?

      • Well… It’s working for me!

        Don’t forget I’m French for the records. LOL

        • Hah! I’ll have to try it with my wife.

        • Just remember to get some actual and quality work done or she’ll likely nitpick it to death! 😉