33 Psychological Tricks To Help You Win Arguments And Make Others Uncomfortable

28. Laughing at a bully who is obviously all bark and no bite.

Had a female friend in high school getting bullied by a boy who was significantly smaller than she was. He only ever gave her issues when he was with his friends, so it was clear that the goal was to impress them. She wanted to kick his ass since she knew she could stomp him, but didn’t want to get suspended so I told her that next time he puts on his show, laugh. Laugh harder than you’ve ever laughed before. Make yourself cry laughing if you can, and watch what happens.

By golly she took my advice and laughed in his face the next time he verbally attacked her. She was with another friend, and the friend joined in on the laughter. He kept going, calling her different names until his face went red, and still kept going even though he ran out of new insults – causing him to repeat himself.

His friends were originally laughing with him, but after only about a minute of this they stopped him. “Dude, they’re laughing at you. This is getting awkward. Just stop and leave it alone…”

He never tried bullying her again, and I just pulled that idea out of my ass on a whim.