The 48-hour rule. Ever heard of it? What is it? How do you use it? How is this going to help me communicate?

Well, if you haven't heard of it before, the 48-hour rule is something used by a lot of people to help them with communicating more efficiently and respectfully, either in their personal lives and their workspace with co-workers and others.

It can sometimes become difficult to sit back and evaluate your emotions when you're in the heat of a conversation or argument. You may end up saying something you regret or something that you didn't mean. Nine out of ten times these types of conversations have happened to me and I have regretted replying the way I did in the first place.

That's where the 48-hour rule comes into play.

I learned the 48-hour rule a while back when I was in High School. A situation came up where someone walked on my toes after we had made an agreement and I was furious. I told one of my friends about it, and how I was planning on calling them out for it.

She immediately replied, "No. Don't. You're only going to make things worse, especially because you're mad. Give it 48-hours. After 48-hours, if you're still angry, you can say something. Until then, cool down and try to let it go."

Best advice I could have ever received. After those 48-hours were up, I realized how silly it was and I didn't even have to confront that person. I just let it go.

The 48-hour rule can be applied in every aspect of your life, and I highly recommend adding it to your list of communication skills. I'm still working on integrating this into every problems I have, but, for the most part, it has helped me a lot.

The 48-hour rule will help you so much if you decide to use it. 48-hours may save you from saying something you may regret and turning a situation from bad to worse.