u/Sensitive-Office-820

That change in framing from "you need to say whatever is necessary to mollify your angry god" to "what would put you in a reasonable position to complete the work" just totally transformed the conversation, transformed the power dynamic. And it cost the professor nothing.

When you do this with a student you can see their shock. They thought they needed to promise an all-nighter or whatever as an act of contrition for wronging you, as a performance of seriousness about their own sin.