5 Practical Tips to Deal with Difficult People

5 Practical Tips to Deal with Difficult People

Difficult people exist everywhere. There is no place without them so better be ready to handle them properly without running out of patience. How difficult it is to deal with them depends on you—on your self-confidence, self-esteem, and your courage.

Difficult people come in many varieties Some of them talk constantly and never listen to whatever you say. They always want to have the last word. Some will ask for your opinion, but after giving your best, you will then realize that they only ask you and never intended to do anything you’ve suggested.

Constantly complaining about these people will only give you the title of being a whiner. That is why it is a must to deal with these difficult people. Handling this kind of people is like handling a complicated situation in your life.

Below are six tips on how you can handle them with grace.

Don’t get dragged down

Usually they share with you all the negativity that they have. But do not let this happen. Always think on the brighter side and never mind those who want to bring you down. The most important thing is to keep your focus on what you should be doing to succeed. Be aware that they are there to pull you down, and you must fight in a positive way for them not to achieve that goal. Keep your guard up, and make sure that they don’t drag you into their world of negativity.

Listen

Yes, most of the time we don’t want to hear them speaking to us. We, most of the time, wanted them never to speak with us. But no matter how hard it is to tune them out, they will surely never stop talking to us. So better listen to them carefully and pretend that you care about what they are saying. Sometimes, it is good to show them that you still listen to what they have to say.

Don’t stay silent

It is good to listen to them even when you don’t want to. But that does not mean that you will only listen and will not speak what is on your mind. If you keep on listening, but not saying anything, they will interpret your silence as agreement. Don’t stay silent and speak when it is needed to voice out what it is on your mind.

Don’t mindlessly agree

We think that nodding and saying ‘yeah’ to everything these difficult people will say will make them stop and go away. But no! Sometimes, we also need to disagree with what they are saying, most especially when we think that they are wrong. It is more harmful to just agree because it will make the flame bigger.

Cut them off

If you think that these people are hopelessly negative and that you’ve done everything to make them stop but does not work, then, it is the time to cut them off. How? By asking to move on to change the topic or on how to solve a particular problem they are addressing. But make sure that doing this will not encourage them to be more aggressive. You can do it in a positive and approachable way of speaking.

Sometimes, dealing with them forces you to be as aggressive. But you can’t lose your cool in the heat of the moment or else it will stress you out even more. Talk and listen with patience and hope that they’ll drop the case and move on with their lives.

What do you do when you need to confront difficult people? Is it fight or flight? Voice them out in the comments below!

[Photo Credits: Weinstein Company]