That advice might not sit well with the super-macho types, but you are 100% correct.
I once attended a martial arts clinic. The presenter was Japanese, a well-regarded karate master. Near the end, the master said that he was going to share with us his most powerful self-defense technique. We all wondered what it would be. A fancy kick? An exotic punch?
Well, it was pretty much what you said. His most powerful technique was this: swallow your pride, verbally diffuse the situation, then quickly move on.
Or as the late Patrick Swayze said in “Roadhouse”, “I want you to be nice until it’s time to not be nice.”