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Do You Make These Mistakes when Dealing with Difficult People?

By On March 14, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Take this quiz and find out!

1. A boss or supervisor angrily criticizes you in a condescending manner because you didn’t do something “correctly” (i.e., the way they wanted). You realize you could have done the task differently if you had been given the proper instructions and you’re uncomfortable with their angry intimidating approach. How do you respond?
Get mad and emphatically tell them that you don’t appreciate being spoken to so rudely and then tell them to please stop. 

Do nothing at first. Complain about them later to your friends or coworkers. Consider filing a grievance against them with higher management. 

Talk to them and try to get them to see how they contributed to the problem. Tell them calmly, “It’s not fair to get angry at me when you didn’t give me the proper instructions in the first place!” 

Say, “If you get angry and rude I’ll probably get flustered and make more mistakes, but if you can be patient and respectful I’ll do my best. Which would you prefer?”
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2. A friend or coworker has the annoying habit of always interrupting you in mid-sentence and talking over you. You feel angry because they are constantly controlling conversations in this manner. How do you bring up the issue with them?
Wait for just the right moment and when they interrupt you again say emphatically, “Stop interrupting me! That’s so rude!” 

When they interrupt you comment in a light-hearted tone of voice, “I can’t help but notice that you’re interrupting me again. Are you worried about what I might have to say?” 

Just avoid the person and find other friends who can communicate better. 

Just accept the situation let them do all the talking. Eventually, they’ll become more interested in what you have to say.
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3. You are a team leader and one of the members of your team often does not show up for meetings despite frequent reminders and yet you are accountable for the work they perform. How do you deal with their irresponsible attitude?
Meet with the person and explain that they are expected to attend meetings even if it seems like a waste of time to them. 

Approach them and say, “I can’t help but notice that you weren’t at the meeting. Is there a problem?” 

Talk to the employee and explain that since they didn’t come to the meeting you assumed they were on top of things and would be OK with whatever was decided. Since there was an extra piece of work that no one else felt they could take on, you decided that it would be OK to pass it to them. 

Tell them that their irresponsible attitude reflects on the entire team and that you all have to work together.
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4. A coworker is saying negative things about you behind your back and seems to be trying to undermine your position. You think they want to take over your job or get you fired. What do you do?
Confront them by making it clear that you are onto them, that you won’t tolerate backstabbing and that if they want a fight then they’ve got one. 

Complain to the management about this person’s manipulative behavior and give them detailed examples. 

Talk to other people in your workplace and explain to them what is happening in order to get them on your side. 

Talk to people in your workplace and explain that you know the person is saying negative things about you, but you understand because they obviously must find it hard to be up front about issues of concern to them.
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5. When dealing with someone who frequently complains and usually has a negative attitude (i.e., they usually complain about what is wrong rather than appreciating what’s going right), what do you do?
Say something like, “Oh, put a sock in it! Quit being such a complainer!” 

When they complain about something join in and add your own criticism or complaint about the thing they are complaining about. Then strongly suggest that they talk to the person, write a letter or do some other thing to really address the issue. 

Just sigh and try to change the topic and accept that they’ll never change. 

Say, “Things just aren’t going right for you today.” Then, the next time say, “Things just aren’t going well for you today are they?” Then, the next time, “Boy things just aren’t going your way, are they” and the next time, “Things are still not going very well. Is something wrong?”
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6. Are you currently dealing with a difficult person? If so, who?
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What type of difficult behavior are they showing?
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When they are being difficult, do you usually.
Feel angry, annoyed or frustrated? 

Feel nervous, worried or afraid? 

Feel overwhelmed or stressed? 

Feel calm and confident?
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7. How intense are your negative emotions in this situation on a scale of 0 to 10 with 10 being the most intense? (i.e., frustration, anxiety, anger, hurt, stress, etc).
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That’s it! Now, just enter your name and email address below and your quiz results will be emailed to you IMMEDIATELY along with the answer key where you’ll get detailed information about each test question.

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