Can you give me some techniques to help deal with difficult people?
Can you give me some techniques to help deal with difficult people?
user
The quick answer is: remember that you can always withdraw from the situation, or simply walk away.  An even quicker answer is: “Next” -- if the behavior is so disturbing that it’s unbearable, simply end the interaction and ignore the person.  A human may not want to ignore a difficult person, but simply recognizing and accepting the power of your options can help you feel a lot better about these kinds of situations.
assistant
I can't exactly walk away because I have to work with them
user
OK.  Sometimes that’s the case, for better or worse.  Can I suggest a tactic to help you be able to walk away if you need to?  Set some ground rules.  Ask the person not to talk to you for a short period of time (e.g. fifteen minutes), and give a clear explanation why.  If they still don't get it, ask for another fifteen-minute break, and explain again.  This way you’ll be able to go on break as much as you need to, and if they still don’t get it, I hope it will become clear to you that this person is too disruptive for you to work with in the future.  Are you able to stop and think before you respond when you’re in these situations?  Or do you just react?
assistant
Yes I cane easily stop and think before I react.
user
That’s good.  Can you tell me more about why the difficult person is so difficult?
assistant
They are very stubborn
user
Can you be more specific?
assistant
They aren't willing to make any changes to their work flow which is causing issues with my work flow.
user