The document provides strategies for handling verbal attacks, rumors, and coercion to choose between friends. It outlines both wrong and right ways to respond. The wrong way is to get angry when verbally attacked, get upset about rumors, and beg or plead when forced to choose friends. The right way is to stay calm, not show if you believe rumors, and let the person know you consider them a friend but won't stop being friends with others.

1. How to Handle Verbal Attacks

2. Wrong Way – Getting Angry
Bully insults a student (no cursing), trying
to upset them
Target becomes frustrated, slowly
becoming angrier and more upset
Bully thinks it’s funny that the Target is
getting so upset, and bullies them even
more!
Make sure you don’t laugh!

3. Right Way – Staying Calm
 Bully insults a student (no cursing), trying to upset them
 Target lets the Bully know in lots of ways that it’s okay
for them to call you names and that they can do it all day
if they want to
 Target treats the Bully as if he/she were doing you a
favor by letting you know what’s wrong with you
 Target responds with humor to an insult (if you think I’m
ugly, you should see my sister!)
 When Bully stops insulting the student, Targets asks “are
you finished? Are you sure? If you want to do it some
more, I really don’t mind.”

4. How to Handle Rumors

5. Wrong Way – Getting Upset
Student comes up to you, telling you about
a rumor they heard about you
Target becomes more and more upset and
argues with him, insisting it’s not true
Wants to find out who started the rumor
Student who told you about the rumor
thinks it’s funny how you’re becoming
upset, and doesn’t give you a lot of
information

6. Right Way – Staying Calm
Student comes up to you, telling you about
a rumor they heard about you
Target asks “do you believe it?”
If he says “no,” say “good”
If he says “yes,” or “I don’t know,” say “you can
believe whatever you want.”
If he asks “but is it true?”
Repeat: “you can believe whatever you want.”

7. How to Coercion to Choose
Between Friends

8. Wrong Way – Begging, Pleading
Student A tells Student B “if you are really
my friend, you won’t be friends with Kelly”
Student B responds with
“oh, please don’t make me choose.”
“it’s not fair! You can’t ask me not to be friends
with Kelly!”
“okay, I won’t be her friend.”

9. Right Way
Student A tells Student B “if you are really
my friend, you won’t be friends with Kelly”
Student B responds with
“I’ll always consider you my friend, but if you
can’t be my friend because of Kelly, I will
understand.”