[al_chemist]

You took communication class and main thing you got out of it was how to not to communicate?

It's like going to knife-fighting class to learn how to win every knife fight and receive "buy a gun" advice. Yes, it works. But it's not really a knife-fighting skill, is it?

[TeMPOraL]

That's a great example you've used here, because number one lesson of winning a knife fight is, run. The best alternative to running away or otherwise avoiding that fight would be indeed to shoot your way out of it.

WRT GP's comment, what they described is communication. It's precise communication. Saying exactly what you mean and nothing more. Not falling to some kind of instinctive save-face pressure and inventing a bullshit reason, that only leaves you worse off (you now either have to defend from your interlocutor's attempts at helping you, or admit that you've lied).

(To use a knife-fighting analogy, it's like learning to thrust without making it easy for your opponent to dodge your attack and cut you up.)

[wmeredith]

This is a hilarious example because knife fighting “skill” is Hollywood BS. Any sort of close quarters combat instruction will nearly always focus on getting out of any altercation involving knives.

[philwelch]

There’s a saying about bringing a gun to a knife fight, or a knife to a gunfight, I can’t remember which but the guy with the gun wins. Usually.