3 Keys to Communicating with Difficult People

In this article, we’re further considering how you can apply English communication skills when dealing with difficult customers.

To the best of our abilities, it’s in your personal and business’ best interests to build connections by leaving positive impressions.

Unfortunately, even if you’ve done everything you can to help, there will be times when you encounter people who are simply unwilling to discuss or maturely handle matters with you.

While the ideal situation would be to not have to deal with this kind of person entirely, the reality is that sometimes, we will all need to deal with unreasonable, immature, and unprofessional people in our lives and careers.

Furthermore, if you don't strategize and plan accordingly, you're only going to be more stressed out and frustrated when you inevitably need to deal with this kind of person, and they're likely to take advantage of you if you're not prepared.

Here are 3 communication strategies I share with my own clients to help them deal effectively with unreasonable peopl:

3 Communication Strategies

Stay calm, professional, & respectful:

This point is crucial.?It is essential for you to remain calm and collected, no matter how unreasonable the other party may be.

If you lose your calmness, get triggered, and begin shouting or telling the other party off, you'll have fallen into their trap of becoming emotional and irrational.

You may feel temporarily relieved, but the consequences could be long-term.

Additionally, speak in a respectful, professional manner.

By doing all of these things, you show your counterpart that you are in control of this situation, not the other way around.

This, in turn, will usually either motivate them to calm down too or simply walk away once they realize they can't control you,?either of these results is a win-win situation for you!

Listen carefully & speak sparingly:

I share this point frequently with my clients:?listen more, speak less.

Most people simply want to be heard and understood.

By listening intently, showing genuine interest in the situation, and asking sincere questions, you show the other party you are serious about solving the issue if it is possible.

Being quick to share your view won’t help.

Only by genuinely listening and using discernment can you truly understand a situation.

Even if the other party continues to be difficult or unreasonable, you can’t be accused of not having given them a fair opportunity to share their points.

Know when to stop:

As mentioned previously, some people unfortunately will simply not budge and want to be right no matter what, and will sabotage everything to get their way.

At this point, you need to know when to stop.

Continuing discussion with someone unreasonable isn’t going to be productive.

Thus, if you have done and offered all you can do to help, and they are still unreasonable, set your boundaries and simply end the conversation.

Conclusion

Managers and senior leaders have many responsibilities to handle.

One such important task is that of quality communication with other people, whether it be their colleagues, leaders, teams, clients, customers, or stakeholders.

If you can become a strong communicator, you can empower yourself to more swiftly and effectively deal with the unreasonable people you will inevitably sometimes need to deal with in your life.

In turn, when you deal with them effectively, you create more energy for yourself to invest in people who actually deserve your time, energy, and attention.

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