1. Healthy Ways of Dealing With Difficult Relationships

2. Learning Objectives
Assess the impact of difficult people on your life.
Understanding the unhealthy cycles that are very easily established in relationships with difficult people.
Understand why difficult people behave the way they do.
Learn four basic approaches for dealing with difficult people.
Ten rules for effective communication.
The characteristics of some difficult personality types.
Coping strategies for dealing with difficult people.
Learn how to become a catalyst for change.

3. The Bully Characteristics: Pushy Demanding Threatening Abrasive
Controlling
Loud
Rude
Sarcastic
Fairly predictable

4. The Time Bomb Characteristics: Emotionally out of control
Gains power through emotional displays
Stores up negative energy
Unpredictable
Explosive
unpredictable
they usually leave and emotional mess to clean up

5. The Con Artist Characteristics: Manipulative Conniving
Seem “too good” to be true
Attractive
Charming
Tell you what you want to hear

6. The Button Pusher Characteristics: Manipulative
Knows your “soft spots”
You feel used
Exploits your weaknesses and insecurities
Avoids work and responsibility
This is that individual that seems to be put on this earth to personally, push you to your limits and knows exactly what makes you tick. Unfortunately they use our weakness and strengths to get what they want....guilt...empathy...compassion, competitiveness

7. The Put-down Artist Characteristics: Negative Pessimistic
Nothing is ever right
Put others down to boost themselves
Sarcastic

8. The Crybaby Characteristics: Chronic complainer Never satisfied
Never happy
Always want you to fix what is wrong

9. The Silent Sam Characteristics: Extremely quiet
Use silence as a weapon
You never seem to know what they are thinking
You feel uncomfortable in their silence

10. The Know It All Characteristics: Super intelligent
They use their knowledge to belittle and intimidate others
Low tolerance for being corrected or contradictions
Not comfortable in social conversations

11. The Perfectionist Characteristics: Insecure
Makes an excessive number of commitments
Pre-occupied in doing everything right
Pre-occupied with details
Fearful of making a wrong decision
Problems prioritizing, setting goals

14. Four Approaches to Dealing With Difficult People
Stay and do nothing
Walk away
Change your attitude
Change your behavior
The only thing you can control is you. You choose what to do, how to interact, and most importantly,...how to interpret and internalize the interaction. If you know the persons agenda and how they work, you can temper the messages they are giving.
Besides it can be fun to watch when a person with a difficult style finds out it doesn't work on you ....sometimes the relationship changes altogether

15. Taking Responsibility for Your Attitudes and Behavior
Focus on what you Can Control
Recognize and Appreciate Individual Differences
Don’t Commit “Assumicide”
Become Self-Observing
Conduct yourself according to the “Golden Rule”

16. Handling Conflicts With Difficult People
Separate Feelings from Value Judgments
Focus on the Similarities, Not Differences
Tolerate Discomfort - Don’t Evade, Disconnect or Act Out
Balance Interests - Self and Other
Tune into the Feelings Behind the Mask
Be Mindful of your Reaction Patterns

17. Ten Rules for Effective Communication
Put your needs and emotions aside initially
Monitor the tone of your voice and your body language
Actively listen
Blend
Practice reflective listening
Identify positive intent
Ask clarifying questions
Redirect
Tactfully interrupt
Summarize and confirm

18. Be a Catalyst for Change
Compare your difficult people problems to other situations
Recall your most recent unpleasant encounter and view it again
Reframe the problem
Remember that outside help is available