How to Ask Someone to Stop Commenting on Your Appearance
Exact words to stop comments on your weight, body or clothes, from a calm first line to a firm repeat, plus what to say to family and at work.
Articles by Jonathan Li
-
-
What to Text to Become Friends With a Friend of a Friend
Exact texts to become friends with a friend of a friend, from a gentle callback to a direct invite, without putting your mutual friend in the middle.
-
How to Stop Interrupting Someone Mid-Sentence
Catch the urge before you cut in, let them finish, and use one short line to hand the turn back. Exact words for when you interrupt someone mid-sentence.
-
How to Set a Boundary Around Last-Minute Plans (With Texts)
Same-day invites eating your evenings? Say how much notice you need, then turn down last-minute plans kindly with these exact texts.
-
How to Tell Someone You Want to Take It Slow When Dating
Exact words for the four kinds of slow: fewer dates, waiting on sex, holding off on exclusivity, or still deciding. Plus what to say if they push.
-
What to Say to Make Friends After Moving to a New City
Moved somewhere new and know nobody? Pick one regular activity, talk to one person at a time, and use these exact lines to turn a familiar face into a friend.
-
How to Ask Someone for Their Side of a Conflict (Scripts)
Six messages to ask someone for their side of a conflict, ordered from gentle to direct, with what each signals and what to say if they refuse.
-
How to Say No to Extra Work and Keep Your Reputation
Exact words to say no to extra work for six kinds of requests, from a coworker's favor to your manager's new deadline, without sounding difficult.
-
How to Decline an Invitation Without Overexplaining
One rambling no to a dinner invite, rewritten four times into two calm sentences, plus exact lines for pushback, late replies and canceling.
-
How to Comfort a Friend After a Breakup Without Fixing It
What to text when a friend says they broke up: exact words to acknowledge the loss, listen without fixing, ask what they need and offer real help.
-
How to Rejoin a Group Chat After Going Quiet for Weeks
How to rejoin a group chat after going quiet: what to send first, whether to mention the gap, and when a private message is better.
-
How to Apologize to a Friend Over Text (With Examples)
How to apologize to a friend over text: what to say, what to cut, sample messages, and what to do if they reply coldly or not at all.
-
How to ask your manager for feedback you can actually use
Bring one piece of work and one specific question to your 1:1, then turn vague praise or criticism into a next step. Sample messages included.
-
How to Be a Better Listener When You Keep Interrupting or Relating
How to stop interrupting in conversations, follow up on what the other person needs and then share briefly in order to keep them interested in talking to you.
-
How to Introduce Yourself at a Networking Event in Two Sentences
A two-sentence introduction for mixers, meetups and career fairs: who you are, one specific focus, one hook, and a question about them.
-
How to Make Friends as an Adult: Show Up, Then Change the Setting
Same people attending a function? Develop a friendship by showing up, adopting one small point of personal contact and then following up.
-
What to text after a first date
First-date follow-up texts for when you want another date, feel unsure or want to leave it there. Includes clear examples and ways to handle the reply.
-
How to Remember People's Names (and What to Say When You Forget)
Small habits that help a new name stick, plus what to say when you've forgotten one mid-conversation, during an introduction, or next time.
-
How to Text an Old Friend After Years: First Messages and How to Handle Replies
One low-pressure text to send an old friend after years apart, sample messages for how you drifted, and what to do with a warm, brief or missing reply.
-
How to Speak Up in Meetings When You Keep Missing the Moment
You have ideas in meetings but the moment keeps passing. Prepare one point, watch for openings to raise it, and follow up after if you miss.
-
How to respond when someone interrupts you at work
Short ways to finish your point without escalating a meeting, plus a sample exchange and a private follow-up for repeated interruptions.
-
How to Text Someone Who Gives Dry Replies
One-word replies like lol or k usually point to a pattern. How to read them, send texts that are easier to answer, and know when to stop.
-
How to respond to a compliment without brushing it off
Simple, natural replies for accepting a compliment at work, with friends, by text and from your boss, plus what to do when a compliment feels wrong.
-
How to ask for a raise: what to bring, what to say and how to handle a no
Book the meeting, bring three results, name the number you want, and know what you'll say if your manager says no, not now, or let me check.
-
How to end a conversation politely
Warm, honest ways to end a conversation in person or on the phone, with scripts for people who keep talking, work chats and quick goodbyes.
-
How to Check In on a Friend Who Seems Distant (Without Pressure)
Your friend has gone quiet. Send a low-key text that doesn't accuse, offer one concrete plan, and follow up once. Sample texts for each step.
-
How to disagree with your parents respectfully
Explain a decision, hear your parents’ concern and hold a boundary as an adult. Includes wording examples and ways to pause a difficult conversation.
-
How to Follow Up After a Job Interview, With an Email for Each Stage
Send a short thank-you email within 24 hours, wait a few days past the decision date, then follow up once. Sample emails for each stage.
-
How to ask someone to hang out
Turn a good conversation into a specific plan. Invitation examples, details to personalize and what to do when someone says yes, maybe or no.
-
How to Give a Short Toast: One True Detail and a Raised Glass
Asked to say a few words? Build a one-minute toast around one true detail about the person, raise your glass, and finish with their name.
-
How to Introduce Two People, in Person or by Email
What to say when you introduce two people at a party or by email, how to give them a reason to talk, and why you should ask both first.
-
How to ask for clarification at work without making it awkward
Ask coworkers and managers what they meant using short, specific wording. Includes before and after examples, four steps and a quick self-check before you send.
-
How to Make Phone Calls When You Hate Them: Prep, Openers and Voicemail
Calling a business, a doctor or a friend? Go in with three points and one opening sentence, then handle hold music, blank moments and voicemail.
-
How to Message Someone on LinkedIn for Advice (With Examples)
How to ask a stranger for advice on LinkedIn: one clear question, one reason you picked them, an easy way to say no, and one follow-up.
-
How to Talk to Your Roommate About a Problem (With Opening Lines)
Pick one roommate issue and a good moment, open with an I-statement, hear their side, and agree on a fix you can both check on later.
-
How to Tell a Story in Conversation So It Lands
How to tell a story in conversation that lands: keep to one thread, cut the setup short, and finish on the one moment people will remember.
-
How to Tell Your Boss You Have Too Much Work (and Ask What Moves)
How to show your manager everything on your plate and ask which task should move, plus what to say if they tell you to just do your best.
-
Cringe Attacks: Why Your Brain Replays Old Conversations
A calm read on cringe attacks, why one embarrassing conversation from years ago hijacks you mid-shower, and what to do when the wave hits.
-
Why You Rehearse Conversations Before They Happen
Why your brain rehearses a conversation that has not started, the three signals that say preparation has tipped into rumination, and what to do instead.
-
How to Stop Replaying Conversations at Night
A calm 11pm walkthrough for when the conversation loop kicks off in bed. Five moves grounded in CBT-I and rumination research, no scolding.
-
Why You Replay Conversations in Your Head (and How to Stop)
Why your brain runs the tape after a conversation, what the loop is doing, and what actually helps when it kicks off at 11pm. Research-backed, no scolding.
