Most of us run into a situation where we are dealing with ˜challenging’ personality at least once in a while. Maybe it’s in your personal life, or maybe it’s in the workplace. Either way, very few of us escape that unspeakable joy of interacting with these personalities. While never easy, there are some things you can do to make the experience and dreaded interaction a little more bearable.
Try not to take it personally
Negative people will be negative people. And it likely has little to do with you and more to do with what they may be challenged with at the moment or otherwise. Tough to do, but if you can not take comments to heart, you’ll be a giant step ahead.
Stay calm
Don’t feed fire with fire, if you can avoid it. No point in getting into a screaming match, since you’ll both come out looking less and less like shining stars. Best way to handle a tough person, is to take a deep breath, count to ten and say what you need to say, in a calm way.
Respect
Often difficult to do when it isn’t being reciprocated, but always treat the person with a good degree of respect, no matter what. You’ll feel better about yourself and hey, maybe they’ll learn a thing or two about how to treat people.
Common Ground
Try to find some if you can. Perhaps you both like the same junk TV shows or you have a favourite restaurant in common. The more you try to relate to the individual, the harder it becomes for them to treat you like the dirt they might sweep under the rug.
Get some perspective
When it gets bad, talk to others. If it’s someone you work with who is particularly difficult, chat up some of your colleagues about the issue. You might be surprised as they are likely a great source of insightful ideas on how to cope. If not, at least you’ll have some company co-commiserating.
Bottom-line: the most important thing to keep in mind, is staying above it. Rarely do we know what goes on in people’s personal lives that they may carry-over into other aspects. Unfair as it may be, you just might be their easy target. So, stand your ground, maintain respect and take the highroad.
