Ever encountered someone who frustrates you so much that you feel like you want to pull your hair out? Ever had the feeling that no matter what you try to do that person is still not happy? Do you recall the last time you had to deal with a difficult person?The truth is you’re not alone!No matter where we go, or what we do you will always come across people who are negative, people who are against your ideas and those who are just simply miserable.
There are around 7 billion people out there and negativity is just a part of life.Throughout the years, I’ve encountered
my fair share of difficult people. Those who are liars, those who don’t turn their work as promised, don’t show up to meetings, people who refuse to collaborate or people who are simply so difficult that you just can’t bare to be around them! So how do you deal with difficult people? What can we do to
ignore this negative energy and turn it into something positive? Below are tips for dealing with difficult people.
- Don’t take it personal: Ever heard the song from Gang Starr “Don’t take it personal?” Guess what he is right! Don’t take it personal is a great tip. Sometimes, people no matter how nice you are or how much you try they are difficult simply because of who they are.It might have nothing to do with you. So try not to take it personally it’s not you!
- Stay calm: loosing your temper and bursting out at the other person typically isn’t the best way to get his/her attention.Using this strategy will probably just make things worst.Instead react in a calm, passive manner, someone who is calm is seen as being in control and more respectable.When the person you are dealing with sees that you are calm despite how angry they are, you will start getting their attention and most likely they react in a more positive way.
- Treat everybody with respect: If there’s one thing I learned through out my experiences “respect” is not given it’s earned.No one likes to be treated as if he/she is incompetent.If you are going
to treat the person with disrespect, it not gong to be a surprise the person is going to reciprocate.
- Use appropriate phrases:Have you ever been a position that the person you are dealing becomes confrontational and you don’t know how to respond? If this is something that has occurred to you before use the following phrases:
- Ask questions rather than making statement: Difficult people often have strong opinions.
Sometimes they’re right, but other times they might be wrong.That’s why when they’re wrong, it’s
difficult for them to admit they are right. A more effective way to point this out is to ask questions rather than to make a statement. By asking questions, you might be able to help the person recognize the issue in his or her own position and you might be able to help the person recognize their mistakes without being confrontational.
Do you have tips on how to deal with difficult people send me a tweet @lorenridinger
