History Main / BreakThemByTalking

** This is made even HarsherInHindsight (even though it would certainly seem to be as bad as it can get already) in ''DDLC+'' when a prequel side story, which has a lot of potential to be a TearJerker and SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming by itself, shows that [[spoiler: before Monika [[GoMadFromTheRevelation had her mind shattered]], she was the first person Sayori trusted enough to open up about her feelings.]]

Obviously, this is easier to pull off from a relative position of power, such as when you have just defeated someone, or when [[PerpSweating interrogating a prisoner]], but it goes both ways. It's even more impressive when someone manages to turn the tables on someone who was in a superior position. When this is done by one being interrogated -- and ''only'' then -- it's the HannibalLecture. Naturally, in between these cases there is the one where both parties start out on an equal footing.

Some good tropes to use in the Breaking Speech include BrutalHonesty, NotSoDifferentRemark, TomatoInTheMirror and TheyDiedBecauseOfYou.

* In ''Theatre/{{JB}}'', Nickles/Satan's last attempt to corrupt Job is to paint the bit at the end -- where J.B. gets all his fortunes back -- as actually the cruelest torment of all; that God could ruin his life, and then just put it all back together again because the whole "Take away your fortunes, kill your children and cover you in boils" thing was just a bit of a lark. When J.B. points out that his children are ''dead'', Satan dismissively says, "You'll have better ones!", mocking the notion that everything could really be put right just like that.

* The Auditor's favourite tactic in ''Roleplay/{{AJCO}}''. She's only had the chance to use it on two people - A_J, repeatedly, and Egg - but she left both in tears. Until that point, A_J had ''never'' been seen weeping.

* In the WebAnimation/CampCamp Season 1 finale, it seems as though David's overly happy-go-lucky spirit has finally been shattered, to Max's absolute delight. As he desperately tries to light a symbolic bonfire that's important to him in the middle of a thunderstorm, Max goes in to lay the final blow
--> '''Max''': Do you really think a big campfire and some outdated, honestly kind of racist tradition is going to make anyone care about anything? No one gives a shit, David. Nobody want to be here! It's like you live in this stupid make-believe world where "everything's great!" The universe doesn't work that way, idiot! Just look around! It's what I've been trying to show you since day one! Life sucks. And we live in a world of desensitized, apathetic assholes. Why don't you just get with the program and stop giving a shit....
* In Episode 81 of ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries,'' Dartz calls Yami out for his callous treatment of his friends. [[spoiler: It works as Yami almost succumbs to the Seal of Orichalcos.]]

* This is how [[spoiler: Elias Bouchard]] operates in ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives''. He peers into people's minds to find what would disturb and hurt them the most, then tortures them by speaking of it as cruely as possible before directly planting feelings and images in their heads. His victim's are often to the point of breaking before he ever plants anything in their mind.

---> (sassy voice) When you read somebody, what you are doing is you slowly chip away at they self esteem, but you do so in such a subtle manner they have no idea what is happening to them; they are simply overwhelmed by a sense of dread.
* Sadly, some parents, teachers, and caregivers (i.e., at daycare centers, or even babysitters) have done this to their offspring / students / charges, in some cases, when they don't mean to...
** As one anyone who's experienced this can tell you, verbal and psychological abuse has this as a staple, as, more often than note, the abuser will resort to things like insults, dares, and taunts that prey on the victim's fears, insecurities, etc. As one might expect, this has the effect of the victim latching on tighter to the abuser or being near unable to form healthy relationships because of the trauma.
** A mild case of this can occur when knowing that you've disappointed someone by your actions makes you feel worse than any punishment could. It's unlikely to have an effort on a sociopath, however.

This is often achieved by a kind of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, telling the other character how pathetic they are or perhaps how guilty of something terrible, perhaps NotSoDifferent from someone unpalatable, but there are other ways of breaking someone down by talking. You could for example instead deconstruct the world, other characters, or their relationship with the victim. The important part is that they can't deny your words, at least not in the heat of the moment, and you gain a psychological advantage over them. [[VillainsNeverLie Uncomfortable truths]] (or at least [[HalfTruth half-truths]]) and logical arguments are effective for making claims hard to deny, but hitting emotional weak spots is also important and can work even if your statements are not truly reasonable.

Some good tropes to use in the Breaking Speech include BrutalHonesty, NotSoDifferent, TomatoInTheMirror and TheyDiedBecauseOfYou.

->'''Shinji''':''"How much did you actually tell my father, anyway?"''\\
'''Rei''':''"Few details. Only that everything he had worked towards and everything he had put myself and his only son through had been for nothing, and that he would die alone and unmourned, rejected by the only person he had ever truly loved."''
-->--''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime''

* A series of independent experiments carried out by a sadistic Harvard psychology professor named Henry Murray in the 1960s could be counted as an extreme (and, as it turned out, extremely unfortunate) real-life example of Breaking Them by Talking. University students were instructed to write an essay summarizing their personal philosophy on life and underlying principles, then went into a room expecting to debate philosophy with a fellow student. They instead faced an interrogation by a far more experienced opponent, whose sole purpose was to attack and ridicule their beliefs at length. Since one of the main goals of the experiment was to induce stress and upset the subject as much as possible, it's not surprising that many students came out feeling traumatized. One of them eventually went completely over the edge (for this reason or some other) and became the Unabomber.\\\

--> (sassy voice) When you read somebody, what you are doing is you slowly chip away at they self esteem, but you do so in such a subtle manner they have no idea what is happening to them; they are simply overwhelmed by a sense of dread.

->''"There exists, for everyone, a sentence--a series of words--that has the power to destroy you. Another sentence exists, another series of words, that could heal you. If you're lucky you will get the second, but you can be certain of getting the first."''
-->-- '''Creator/PhilipKDick''', ''Literature/{{VALIS}}''

!!Examples:

* BreakThemByTalking/{{Fanfic}}

* Many gay men, especially drag queens, have perfected the XanatosSpeedChess variation of this called "[[https://www.nextmagazine.com/content/art-read the read]]", being able to assess someone quickly and jab them precisely.

The distilled version of this is the ArmorPiercingQuestion. If the declarations used as a weapon come from simple clues, this is a form of SherlockScan. Some characters have the ability to do this as a superpower, which may be an example of AwesomeByAnalysis. Can be done as part of EvilGloating. ShutUpHannibal is a way of countering this trope. The opposite effect is done by a WorldOfCardboardSpeech, when the hero tells about ''his own'' flaws and how they don't matter now. The reverse or "good counterpart" is the KirkSummation or TalkingTheMonsterToDeath. HannibalLecture is a specific subtrope.

Obviously, this is easier to pull off from a relative position of power, such as when you have just defeated someone, or when [[PerpSweating interrogating a prisoner]], but it goes both ways. It's even more impressive when someone manages to turn the tables on someone who was in a superior position. When this is done by one being interrogated--and ''only'' then--it's the HannibalLecture. Naturally, in between these cases there is the one where both parties start out on an equal footing.

Note that a lot of this hinges on the victim actually caring about what you have to say, or otherwise respecting you enough to take your opinion seriously. If the victim is TooDumbToFool, or simply doesn't care about your opinion, then all you're likely to get for your trouble is laughter or a blank stare.

* In ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'', Rosalia does this to Kirito as a pre-battle tactic. [[GoneHorriblyRight Unfortunately for her, it backfires spectacularly]]; while it indeed gets to him, it changes him from JerkAss DeadpanSnarker to a LaughingMad PsychoticManchild... and he's a long time player of the videogame they're trapped in, so he's waaaaaay past her level in terms of sheer stats. [[CurbStompBattle It ends quickly after that.]]

** A mild case of this can occur when knowing that you've disappointed someone by your actions makes you feel worse than any punishment could.

* Vin Gerard performed a number of these on Wrestling/ShaneStorm -- playing off Storm's betrayal of the technicos by selling out the counter to the Chikara Special (a Chikara MoralEventHorizon if there ever was one) and then twisting his world on its axis as Vin thanked him for it. Ended with Storm 'transforming' into the rudo STIGMA, dropping the color from his outfits, the bright mullet becoming a black mohawk and joining with Vin Gerard and Colin Delaney to become the [=UnStable=].

* Vin Gerard performed a number of these on Wrestling/ShaneStorm -- playing off Storm's betrayal of the technicos by selling out the counter to the Chikara Special (a Chikara MoralEventHorizon if there ever was one) and then twisting his world on its axis as Vin thanked him for it. Ended with Storm 'transforming' into the rudo STIGMA, dropping the colour from his outfits, the bright mullet becoming a black mohawk and joining with Vin Gerard and Colin Delaney to become the [=UnStable=].
** Then inverted when Vin tries the same thing on Jigsaw, who had removed his mask elsewhere and hadn't been seen in Chikara for a year. Vin said that he'd never seen the boys in the back as angry at anyone as they were at Jigsaw ("No matter what I did, ''I'' never had to buy a ticket!") and there was no way to get back on their good side - Jigsaw might as well join the [=UnStable=]. Jigsaw responded with superkicks.

* Vin Gerard performed a number of these on Shane Storm -- playing off Storm's betrayal of the technicos by selling out the counter to the Chikara Special (a Chikara MoralEventHorizon if there ever was one) and then twisting his world on its axis as Vin thanked him for it. Ended with Storm 'transforming' into the rudo STIGMA, dropping the colour from his outfits, the bright mullet becoming a black mohawk and joining with Vin Gerard and Colin Delaney to become the [=UnStable=].

For examples of ''literally'' breaking someone by talking, see WeaponsGradeVocabulary or MakeMeWannaShout.

* BreakThemByTalking/{{Literature}}

[[folder:Theater]]

* BreakThemByTalking/ComicBooks

* BreakThemByTalking/{{Literature}}
* BreakThemByTalking/VideoGames
* BreakThemByTalking/{{Webcomics}}

** As one anyone who's experienced this can tell you, verbal and psychological abuse has this as a staple, as, more often than note, the abuser will resort to things like insults, dares, and taunts that prey on the victim's fears, insecurities, etc. As one might expect, this has the effect of the victim latching on tighter to the abuser or being near unable to form healthy relationships because of the trauma.