{"id":6956,"date":"2017-07-26T18:21:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T18:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arliemediadesign.com\/?p=6956"},"modified":"2025-03-10T18:30:43","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T18:30:43","slug":"five-tips-for-dealing-with-difficult-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/five-tips-for-dealing-with-difficult-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Tips for Dealing with Difficult People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There\u2019s no denying that some individuals have grave, deep seated flaws \u2013 be it unstirring arrogance, tunnel vision or an intense adoration for UB40. But it\u2019s always advisable to take an empathetic or proactive (rather than reactive) approach to dealing with difficult people. This applies equally in the workplace, the public arena, at home and online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are five helpful tips for dealing with difficult people while also strengthening our own empathy and inner wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don\u2019t lose your cool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are times when another\u2019s behaviour will make you want to scream a slew of profanities in their face. But while this may provide a momentary jolt of adrenaline, it\u2019s ultimately a no-win ploy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like eating a load of junk food, engaging in petty squabbling is only going to leave you feeling worse off in the long run. If there\u2019s no chance of imminent resolve, take a moment to isolate yourself \u2013 perhaps go for a walk or sit down in a quiet room. Given time and space to think, try to conceive a more apt way of tempering the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019re probably an incidental target<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Aggravated behaviour is usually prompted by something specific (or a whole host of subjective circumstances). If someone in your workplace or on your local netball team is suddenly very crabby towards you, it\u2019s likely a symptom of personal unrest and not a direct attack on you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before letting this difficult behaviour chip into your self-esteem, consider what the person could be going though. If you maintain composure, you might be able to assist this person rather than exacerbating their distress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meet people half way<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When you feel someone\u2019s being too demanding or overbearing, transfer your focus to the issue at hand rather than his or her deficient diplomacy. Weigh up whether it\u2019s worth engaging in battle. If not, see if you can gain their respect (or at least elicit some acknowledgement) by adhering to their request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is different to simply submitting or pandering to a person\u2019s vanities. It\u2019s about setting aside egoistic aspirations in the name of practical civility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gain strength from friends and allies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If a regular acquaintance is placing a great strain on your mental health, then take solace from the supportive people close to you. Let\u2019s say it\u2019s a workplace bully \u2013 if you\u2019ve built up a loyal crew of co-workers, you\u2019re less likely to become feebly vulnerable. What\u2019s more, discussions with people who\u2019re on your side can provide greater insight into the antagonist\u2019s nasty behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Review your culpability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, the blame game is a messy business, even if you feel it\u2019s justified. Try to stay conscious of the fact that difficult situations often arise out of nuanced perspectives or problem-solving methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We all behave in a largely routine manner. The thing is, our individual systems and thought practices can vastly deviate from those of others. This means there are times when we face great difficulty communicating or working together with someone else, but our ambitions and desires are actually quite similar. You can likely work around the initial discord by finding common ground and mutually recognising each other\u2019s point of view.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We can all admit that our actions aren\u2019t always entirely pleasant. This could be caused by external stresses, unsatisfied expectations or self-involved flutters of the ego. Accordingly, we often face difficult situations or somewhat fractious interactions with the people we encounter in our day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,45],"tags":[],"blog-post-type":[35],"class_list":["post-6956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership","category-personal-development","blog-post-type-blog-with-image"],"acf":{"read_or_watch_time":"Read length: 5 min read"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v26.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Five Tips for Dealing with Difficult People - Happy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/five-tips-for-dealing-with-difficult-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five Tips for Dealing with Difficult People\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We can all admit that our actions aren\u2019t always entirely pleasant. 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