Therapeutic Communication Techniques

verb To behave in a superior manner; to talk down to someone; to patronize.

• She refused to condescend to his level of ignorance during the debate.
• Don't condescend to me like I don't know what I'm talking about.
• Stop condescending to me, I'm not a child.
• The wealthy woman would often condescend to help the less fortunate in her community.

adjective expressing disapproval or disappointment

• She shot him a reproachful look when he arrived late to the meeting.
• My mom gave me a reproachful glare when she saw the mess in my room.
• He gave me a reproachful side-eye when I accidentally spilled my drink on him.
• The old painting seemed to cast a reproachful gaze on anyone who dared to touch it.

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, in this case, the act of speaking or communicating verbally

• The professor was talking about the importance of research in the field of science.
• We were just talking about our plans for the weekend.
• She's always talking smack about other people behind their backs.
• The painting seems to be talking to me, telling a story of its own.

noun a reading or performance done without any prior preparation or rehearsal

• The psychic claimed to have mastered the art of cold reading to impress her clients.
• I heard that guy at the party is really good at cold reading people.
• I can't believe how accurate his cold reading was, it was mind-blowing!
• The author's ability to cold read the audience's reactions and adjust the speech accordingly was impressive.