In the world that we live in, we meet different types of personalities which are way different from our own. Dealing with these different types of personalities can be somehow difficult. All the same, life must continue with or without such people. What things mean is that we ought to learn how to swallow our pride and learn to interact with different types of people.
In this article I am going to focus on the category of people that we consider or rather perceive to be difficult because of how they approach things. I bet you have at least met them if you are not one of them.
So then how do you get to interact with them and ensure that at the end of the day you are having a constructive conversation? Would you ignore them or will you rather find a way of engaging? Well, as you try to ponder on that allow me to suggest to you some of the tactics you can use to have a two-way conversation that will end up being constructive whether or not you come into agreement with your discussion.
How to Understand and Reason With Difficult People
- Listen. One of the sweetest things that you can ever give to someone is a listening ear. We all want to be heard and better off understood. Our ability to appreciate, respond to, and empower others is based on our ability to listen to them in an empowering and open way. Listen with an intention of understanding and not responding. This skill will put the other party in a position to express themselves out. On your end, you will be in a position to understand why the individual thinks the way he is and will also help you know how to approach the subject matter.
- Avoid being judgemental. Unless you get to understand someone’s way of thinking or operation you will always be on the other side of judging him. I know you wouldn’t wish someone to misunderstand you at any point and time. Even if it just one, find an interesting part of what your counterpart is talking about instead of trashing the whole thing. This will help you drive your impactful point home and of course, make an influence.
- Trust your instincts. If your gut is telling you that things are taking a different turn, be ready to do what you need to do to remain safe. Look for an exit strategy to even a better conversation so that you don’t land yourself in the Pacific Ocean yet you gat no idea how swimming feels like.
- Don’t act defensively. I know this is tough. You are naturally not enjoying the other person saying things that you do not resonate with or things that you know aren’t true. You’re going to want to defend yourself. But the other person is so emotionally revved up, it’s not going to help. Remember, this is not about you. Don’t take it personally.
- Show respect and dignity toward the other person. The fact that you guys differ in your beliefs or opinion it should be a license to disrespect someone. No matter how a person is treating you, showing contempt will not help productively resolve the situation. How you treat someone tells a lot about you irrespective of your school of thought and ideologies.
Can you remember that time when you were that difficult person? What snapped you back to reality? Perhaps you can use your personal experiences as the basis for reasoning with difficult people you encounter in your life.
