"Oh no you didn't just say that"

My company provides us with learning development courses that help us learn and grow in our present positions and also to prepare us for other positions as we progress in the company. Some of them are simple courses that do not take long. Some, however, are courses that not only are long and involved and take a dedicated amount of time to complete, but they are somewhat interactive in simulation style tests.

They involve a conversation with one or two people in a business situation setting. There is a business problem that must be solved with the conversation that transpires. How it works is that someone starts the conversation and then you have a choice of responses which gets a reaction and dialogue from the other person. If you make good choices with your responses, the conversation goes well. I have only encountered that up until yesterday. I didn't realize that one bad response choice can set up the conversation to be confrontational and antagonistic (pretty realistic, huh?). The scenario in this particular course was that there was a new department leader on board and you both are having your first initial conversation to determine communication styles and to establish the foundation for working together.

Not only do they have facial expressions while they respond but also when they are listening. This particular person didn't "like me" right from the beginning and frankly, in the middle of the simulation, I was on my feet talking to the computer and after her argumentative response to me, I said, out loud, "oh no you didn't just say that". Well, I knew at that point I would have to retake the simulation anyway, so I decided to get all my frustrations out in a knock down, drag out fight with this chick. So instead of picking the calm, nice communication, I picked the most antagonistic response I could just to get a reaction from her. Needless to say, I didn't pass but boy, I sure felt better. I should have been sad about having to retake it but somehow, I felt more empowered because "I had shown her what I was made of" and was ready to proceed being a peaceful communicator.