When someone’s getting picked on, “leave them alone” is a short sentence that can change someone’s whole year.

Most bullying depends on the audience agreeing, or at least not disagreeing. A single voice breaking that silence changes what the room is, and the person being targeted stops being alone in it, which is the part they will remember years later. It costs a sentence and it is genuinely frightening to say.

You do not need a speech or a plan. Three words spoken plainly are enough, and if that is too much, walking over and standing next to the person does similar work. Afterwards, check in with them privately.