4 Secrets to OUTSMART a Narcissist in Any Conversation

Number two, say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yes, I am telling you to counteract like them because this one is a game changer, and it is something most people do not think to use.

When a narcissist throws a baseless accusation at you—something completely absurd or exaggerated—you can disarm them instantly with a simple phrase: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Why is this so effective? Because narcissists thrive on creating emotional confusion. That is the key. They want you to overexplain. They want you to argue, defend yourself, or get flustered. But when you say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you counteract their manipulation. You’re not becoming like them. You force them to explain themselves, and here’s the thing: they cannot.

Let’s say you ask them for an example. They won’t give you any, and all the examples they’ll provide will be baseless. You will leave them speechless. Even if you have said or done that thing, you can still say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” just to make them think they sound stupid or ignorant.

And that is what a narcissist does not like. Let’s say that narcissist says, “Oh, you’re always trying to make me look bad in front of others.” That is an accusation. That’s what they do. You won’t say, “Oh, but you do that.” You’ll say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” because you actually do not know what they’re talking about. It is something they have made up to justify their victimhood. You can ask, “Can you give me an example?”

Now the ball is in their court, and they’re left scrambling to justify their claim. This tactic keeps you calm and forces them to face the impotence of their accusations. If they give you examples, as I said, you say, “I do not remember having said or done that in the way you explain,” and that’s the truth. You can also tell them, “You can believe whatever you want to because my experience of reality is entirely different from how you are explaining it.”