A close friend went to a refresher class for track safety .  A gentleman by the name of John Deikman came to speak at the end of the class. He really had nothing to do with he track safety , but the railroad has him speak at the end anyway . 

He talked about how people talk and treat each other. If you speak to someone with respect they will generally speak back to you with the same respect . The same goes with disrespect . For example , There is a teacher at my children's school that thinks if she is strong in her words and her tone she will earn the respect of the children . The fact of the matter is the children don't respect her as much as they fear her. Should children really fear the teacher or respect the teacher ? I have seen her in action and I must say she could tone it down a bit . I am sure if she spoke to the children with the same respect she expects from them things would be different. 

Do you respond to kind ?

Back to how you talk to people ... Do you approach people in general with respect ? Even if you are approached in a disrespectful way to you follow through and reciprocate what you received . I like the saying " Kill them with kindness ". When someone is being disrespectful  if you continue to follow through with kindness they will eventually give up or give in .

He also mentions that you can apply that with your children . You can talk to them with out verbally attacking them . When you approach them in attack mode they automatically go into respond mode. They attack back . Then nothing is really achieved. If you approach them in a positive way they will react in a positive way . It works . I used this with my son yesterday and as clear a day my new approach worked . 

Who knew that a track safety class would benefit me as well as my friend .