Conversation! Everyone’s doing it these days.

Have you ever had that thing where someone says something to you, then you say something back to them, then they say something, and so on? You probably just had a conversation and didn’t even realize it.

But are you winning your conversations? Too many people use conversation to exchange information or simply to pass the time, completely unaware that every conversation has a winner and a loser. Which would you rather be?

Use the following strategies correctly and you’ll be winning conversations so consistently that no one will dare engage you in one ever again.

1. OPPONENT: We just got some pretty good news.

YOU: I can’t believe it! They finally gave you a five-hundred-thousand-dollar raise, didn’t they?

OPPONENT: Er . . . no.

YOU: Oh. Sorry. So what’s the good news?

OPPONENT: Our little Jimmy just got into his first-choice preschool.

YOU: Oh. That’s good, too. Certainly nothing to sneeze at!

Strategy used: Intentional Overstatement of Expectations.

2. OPPONENT: We just got some pretty good news.

YOU: Do tell!

OPPONENT: Our little Jimmy just got into his first-choice preschool.

YOU: It’s so great that you’re forcing him to make life-altering decisions at such a young age. Builds character—that’s the theory, right?

Strategy used: Seed of Doubt.

3. OPPONENT: We just got some pretty good news.

YOU: Go on!

OPPONENT: Our little Jimmy just—