This Tip discusses how to deal with difficult people by touching on a variety of techniques that can address their behaviors.
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic. Instead, they are creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice, and motivated by pride and vanity.” Dale Carnegie
How to Deal With Difficult People
We all have to deal with people who exhibit difficult behavior at one time or another. They may be customers, co-workers, family, or friends. Some people seem to be difficult by nature and others by design. Some people are just having a bad day and you are an unwilling participant.
Regardless of whether their behavior is unconscious or intentional, we still have to handle the situation. And, if we’re honest, we’ve all been difficult people ourselves at times. This occurred when our needs weren’t being met. So, to some extent, we can sympathize with the difficult people in our lives. But that doesn’t mean that we enjoy dealing with them- or that we’re effective when we try to handle them.
Certain Techniques
There are certain techniques that tend to work very well, depending on the circumstances:
- staying calm and professional,
- using friendly and open body language,
- letting them vent,
- listening actively,
- apologizing for any difficulties (without accepting responsibility for them),
- acknowledging and respecting their feelings,
- taking a problem-solving approach,
- sometimes giving a cool-down period,
- helping them feel they have some control in the situation, and
- being honest and empathetic in our communication.
All of these techniques for handling difficult people require practice. They also require that we are able to depersonalize the situation. This is so that we can stay calm and avoid getting angry or defensive.
A Free Virtual Session
Join us on February 2, 2022 at 11 am CST. You will leave this free virtual, highly interactive 3-hour session ready to:
- view difficult people with more understanding and objectivity,
- remember what you did to handle difficult behavior and why it worked in previous situations so you can repeat it,
- stop reacting to inflammatory words or actions that can trigger your defensive responses,
- use active listening to defuse and redirect difficult conversations, and
- draw on a variety of tips and techniques to deal more effectively with difficult people.
It doesn’t have to be difficult to handle difficult people. Come learn how to make it easier on yourself.
You can register to attend this free virtual program on How to Deal with Difficult People at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-handle-difficult-people-tickets-243467707467
May your learning be sweet- and safe.
Deborah
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