I have a guilty pleasure – I love watching lip sync battles. Can we learn anything about dealing with bullies from them? Yes. Yes we can.
First, I would love to see someone scat Joe Williams singing “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t go that swing.” Seriously – Joe was a master and funny! I also would like to see someone lip sync battle to Sex Toys by Duran Duran.
But back to the topic at hand. What can we learn about dealing with bullying from these “battles.” These are battles. People talk smack and one up each other and they do it all with a GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR!
Lip Sync battlers, who win, don’t take themselves or the game seriously. It’s a game. It’s about posturing. If you take it seriously, you won’t enjoy the process or the game. If you take it seriously, your fear will hold you back. Winners, allow themselves to look ridiculous. They perform without fear and that’s why they win!
Bullying is a game to the bully. They do an aggressive display and they get a response. That response is usually other people doing what they want. If you respond to them with humor and without fear – you win.
How can you go from point A (being bullied and being nervous and insecure and not able to stand up for yourself to a person who is fearless and with a good sense of humor? You start small and build upon your successes.
First, you need a comeback line. Seriously. People who are good at this, practice them. No one comes up with good one liners on the fly. So think of something simple you can say when being bullied and practice saying it out loud. This statement should be something you can say in a deadpan voice, be direct, to the point and with a little bit of humor if you can manage it. Then, next time a bully dings you – ding them back with your practice phrase. Don’t feel like you need a big repertory of phrases. One or 2 will do you.
Once you master this technique, you will grow in confidence and be less fearful. You will begin to see the exchange between you and a bully as a game and you can start having fun with it. What I don’t want you to do is be mean!!!! Don’t bully the bully. Ever. That makes you a bully and bullying is bad. Just be nice and direct and fearless. Use your humor to be humble.
Learn more about how to use this technique by joining this site and watching some of the free videos or getting my book.