That's the gist of what the author was saying, and he also goes on to recommend memorizing something in advance and then walking away. I too get this "can't process verbal and emotional at the same time," but I have found that I can at least be aware of "this is one of those challenging situations." From there I can go through the motions of the "agree" strategy, and stumble my way back to my feet from there.

Maybe it wouldn't work for the author, but I've found success with it.