5 Great Tips to Deal with Difficult People
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People who are difficult to handle, can be anywhere, they could be your boss, your relative, your parent or even your life partner. The more your situation demands that you deal with such a person, the more you find it complicated to deal with. You feel angry, frustrated and it starts to not only affect your relationship at different levels but also your happiness and well being. Difficult people mostly tend to be very opinionated, stubborn, aggressive and insensitive. They seem to not be able to sympathize with someone. These reasons combined together make them impossible to deal with. But it’s always possible to work it out. Here are 5 useful ways to deal with difficult people.
1. Don’t get agitated
When someone gives you a flat “no,” has no tolerance for your opinion, gets agitated and starts yelling at you, and does not even hear what you have to say, it’s very natural to feel extremely angry and frustrated. Your initial impulse would be to yell back and reciprocate in the same manner. Take a deep breath and let the person get it out of his or her system.
2. Try to avoid difficult situations
Analyze the kinds of situations when you have extreme fights with the person – you are working together, or shopping and buying grocery if you are partners. As colleagues, you may be working on the same project. Divide the work and create no-nonsense zones. If you are doing something, the opposite person should not interfere or intervene and vice versa.
3. Carefully analyze their behavior
Sometimes people behave in extreme ways due to their past history – parental abuse, domestic violence or low self-esteem. You need to find out what is possibly resulting in this behavior, and in which situations the person becomes most difficult to deal with. Try to observe and trace the behavior to understand the person better. Only then you can come up with a solution.
4. Talk it out
When the person is in a fairly good mood, ask him or her to get tea or coffee, and ensure that there are no lingering thoughts or anything pressing in the moment. Tell him or her as to how you feel and how it’s not helping the either of you. Ask them to reflect on their behavior. Sometimes talking really helps. You will see some positive developments.
5. Seek help from someone close
If the person just refuses to accept what you say or has developed negative feelings towards you, you may have to seek outside help. Look out for people they love and respect the most. Perhaps if that person talks, you might be able to drive some sense through them.
