At one point or another in our lives, we all have to deal with "difficult" individuals. The truth is that the thought of talking to them terrifies us and we do everything we can to avoid meeting them, but… we don't always succeed. This can be a colleague with whom we work in the same office, the ex-boyfriend, the neighbor or a relative. How to maintain presence of mind if someone around us is too capricious, aggressive or plays the role of a victim and complains about everything and everyone.
1. It's good to start with knowing yourself, more precisely what can take you off balance - talk about politics, money, gossip… You can be sure that your "difficult" interlocutor knows your weak spots and will target them right there. What can you do if the atmosphere heats up? Take a deep breath, wait idly, or simply "disconnect" from the conversation.
2. How can you best verbally parry your opponent and have him literally "put in the sails"? If you respond to every one of his lines with, "Maybe you're right," "That's your opinion," or "I'm sorry that's how it turned out," sooner or later your opponent will refuse to engage you in the argument.
3. Try to resist the temptation to get into an unnecessary argument Your difficult interlocutors will want to engage your attention and if you find yourself defending, judging, arguing - just stop. You are aware that it is impossible to change the thinking of such people. The way out is not to get into a pointless argument.
4. So far, we have focused our efforts on avoiding unwanted arguments and conversations on conflicting topics with the "difficult" individuals in our daily lives, but there is actually an opportunity to see things from a completely different angle. These difficult people are first and foremost human beings, with positive and negative qualities and problems like all of us. Their unacceptable behavior may be their way of dealing with their problems. And it's also possible that they don't intentionally affect or hurt you. Maybe they just need your attention, and getting it makes them feel important, regardless of the negative feelings they have caused you.
If we take the time and try to understand what subconscious feelings and thoughts are behind the difficult character and behavior of the "difficult people" around us, maybe we will be able to overcome our inhibitions and make the relationship with each othertolerable and why not even friendly.
