Dealing with challenging people (William Ury, author of Getting Past No: Negotiating with Difficult People.)

Ury shares five critical strategies for dealing with challenging people whether they’re stubborn, hostile, greedy, or downright dishonest:

1. Don’t react. When someone is difficult, your natural reaction might be to get angry – or to give in. Instead, step back from the difficult conversation, look objectively on the dispute, and plan your resume.

2. Disarm them by stepping to their side. Another technique for dealing with difficult people – and one of the most challenging – is to try to understand the other person’s point of view.

3. Change the game. You don’t have to play along with a difficult person’s game. Instead of locking into a battle of will, consider putting a new frame on the challenging conversation.

4. Make it easy to say “yes.” Look for ways to help your opponent save face and feel that he’s getting his way, at least in some matters.

5. Make it hard to say “no.” Use your power and influence to help educate your opponent about the situation. If he understands the consequences and your alternatives, he may be open to reason.