Gentle Answers

Is it hard for you to give a gentle answer?
Yeah, me too at times.
Do you welcome wrath and stir up anger?
Yeah, me too at times.
Do you say wise things?
Yeah, me too at times.
Do you say foolish things?
Yeah, me too at times.
See, we are not so different. Here's a couple verses about this phenomenon:
 
“A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise makes knowledge pleasant,
But the mouth of fools spouts foolishness.”
-Proverbs 15:1-2
 
Regarding a “gentle answer” Adam Clarke, a famous British theologian and Bible scholar, once said:
"Gentleness will often disarm the most furious, where positive derangement has not taken place; one angry word will always beget another, for the disposition of one spirit always begets its own likeness in another: thus kindness produces kindness, and rage produces rage. Universal experience confirms this proverb."
_________
 
I think most can agree that kindness is more desirable to rage for so many reasons. Mr. Clarke's commentary about the disarming power of gentleness is hopefully something on which we can find common ground. Likewise, I suspect we have all been on both the giving and receiving end of kindness and rage through our personal experiences.
 
Assuming most of us prefer gentleness and kindness, what are some ways we can cultivate these two spiritual fruits in our lives?