I'm a communication therapist. This trick has saved me from hundreds of arguments and weird conversations.

Westend61/Getty Images As a speech-language pathologist, I teach people how to pause strategically. I adapted that technique into a simple trick to avoid arguments. A small, intentional pause can change how conversations unfold. I'm a speech-language pathologist, and I've been teaching kids and adults communication skills for a decade. I support kids who stutter or have lisps as well as students with autism who are considered "nonverbal" — or show limited use of their words. I've also worke...