245. Why you need a classy clapback

Ever been hit with a ridiculous comment that left you speechless? Whether it’s “You’re profiting off cancer” or a sly dig at your pricing, negative feedback can rattle even the most seasoned professional—especially when your work is heart-led and purpose-driven.

In this episode of That Voice Podcast, I’m unpacking what it means to deliver a classy clapback—not a snarky comeback, but a clear, confident response that protects your message, your mission, and your mindset.

✨ You’ll learn:
— Why ignoring criticism isn’t always the best option
— How to build your own Q&A doc (just like we did in PR!)
— The secret sauce to turning hard questions into mic-drop moments
— Why “Yes, and…” is the most disarming way to begin a clapback
— How to prepare responses to both public critics and your inner doubts

🧀 Plus: a smelly cheese metaphor you won’t forget. (You’re welcome.)

Whether you’re growing a business, building a brand, or just sick of being caught off guard by comments that linger in your brain at 3am—this one’s for you.

💬 Ready to craft your own classy clapbacks? DM me or book in for a Speak Up For Your Business workshop.

Transcript

Welcome back to That Voice Podcast. Episode 245 where I am teaching you why you need a classy clapback. Free tongue twister in the title of this episode.

Now when I say clapback I do not mean aggressive or snarky, I mean clear confident response.

The alliteration of Classy clapback was just too good to go past.

And the idea for this topic came about a few weeks ago when I was working with a client who has an amazing incredible business providing care packages for people going through cancer treatments.

The founders went through it themselves and realised what people actually want and need.

It’s one of the most heart-led good cause businesses out there.

But there was a little hesitation because someone along the way has said ‘that’s terrible, you’re profiting off cancer.”

Unbelievable right?!

And in your business or profession I’m sure someone has made a negative comment that you didn’t know how to answer. And anyone who’s work is attached to hardships may face similar ridiculous comments.

Now, ignoring these comments is sometimes the best path forward.

But the problem is that even if you don’t give a response, even if you don’t clapback, these comments can lodge in your mind. And if you don’t have a clapback for yourself at the very least…. You’re going to start believing these comments, and they can fester like a piece of cheese stuck under the couch, and that stench clouds all your other messaging, impacting your ability to show up with confidence and conviction.

Before I started this business about 7 years ago, I was in the PR team for a water and sewerage company. And in your PR materials, you have a press release or a holding statement if it’s something you only want to release reactively. We have our Key Messages. Often grouped under the problem, the solution and call to action. And then we have a document, which was often pretty hefty, called the QandA’s.

And this is where we put our journalism hats on and wrote down all the questions we could possibly get asked about the topic. Good, bad, everything.

Because we can’t control the questions.

I remember once sending a document out to the technical experts to double check the accuracy on our answers and it was sent back to us with the questions crossed out. With a little tracked change note that said, you can’t ask that. We rolled our eyes, it was a god complex slash absolutely no idea how the media works.

Could you imagine being interviewed by a journalist and saying in response to a question, you can’t ask that. We all know what happens when spokespeople spit the dummy and ask for things to be deleted and walk out of interviews. They get annihilated in the court of public opinion.

Now even if you are never in front of a journalist answering tough questions about your company or your business. You must take time to formulate would you would say in answer to the questions.

It could be a social media comment, it could be a passing comment from a customer, it could be someone at a bbq, it could be…. Wait for it…. A little voice in your head that whispers doubts and questions.

This is why you need to be ready for the clapback.

Being able to clapback negativity is the very thing that make you share your message with unwavering confidence and conviction.

So do what I did in PR. And this is an exercises I do with clients too. We of course start with our key messages, and then we formulate the Q&A’s.

Go to town. Write down every question and comment that has ever been levelled and ever could be levelled at you. Don’t worry about the answers yet. Just brainstorm the questions. Your brain might want to stop you asking the question, because it’s not convinced it has the answer. This is sweeping it under the rug. Just because you don’t want to pay attention to it, doesn’t mean it goes away, in fact, remember the cheese – it festers.

And this where you bring out your inner debator. I was in the debating team at high school – of course I was, massive nerd. These skills are handy.

SO when you get to answering the questions. Don’t leave it at no.

So for example Are you profiting off cancer? No, we’re not. Think about how you can actually argue with this. Argue with kindness and fairness and warmth – that’s the classy in the classy clapback.

So a good clapback often begins by agreeing. This always disarms people.

SO the profiting off cancer question, Yes, wouldn’t it be great for our business not to exist. Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world without cancer? Until that day, we will not stop in bringing comfort and care to people going through such a difficult time in their lives.

When you stand up and defend your position, you put a stake in the ground, a stake in your sound and people take notice. If you are not rock solid with your message, people won’t feel rock solid to trust you and buy from you.

So examples almost everyone can have in their list of Q&A’s….

How do you deal with complaints?

You’re too expensive, what do say to that?

What makes your business different?

What’s your big vision or end goal?

How do you handle failure?

What kind of results do your clients get?

What do you do? How do you explain your business without sounding salesy?

Those are the fundamental questions we address in my in-person Speak up for your business workshops. I have ones coming up in London and Perth so book in for those.

So those are some generic examples. You will know the sneaky questions you need to answer. They are the subtle words that play on your mind. The comments that keep you up at night. Get those answered.

And then there are the questions like –

Are you really good enough to be doing this?

What gives you credibility?

Who do you think you are?

And we’re drifting into territoty for another episode here, but you get the drift. What if you treated any doubts and negativity said by others or just in your head as material for your Q&A document. Exciting challenges to be solved. What if you debated them like you were in the world championships of debating.

What would you say to make the classy comeback, the drop the mic moment, the that’s right bitches energy, that will make those doubts vacate your orbit. What if you had the perfect comeback in your pocket for when that person makes that comment or asks that question? Because often they want to call your bluff, because they don’t think you have a comeback, they want to smear you. What if you lobbed that right back their way, in a classy way. In a way that would actually have them thinking twice. In a way that protects and enhances the reputation of your business and strengthens the conviction with which you speak and sell.

And if you want my help to craft your key messages and your Q&A’s get in touch, we’ll make you the comeback king or queen.