Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life - Hardcover

Mark Goulston

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814436366 ISBN 13: 9780814436363

Publisher: AMACOM, 2015

Synopsis

"Finally! The book that helps you deal with irrational, impossible people." -Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Because some people are beyond difficult... Let's face it, we all know people who are irrational. No matter how hard you try to reason with them, it never works. So what's the solution? How do you talk to someone who's out of control? What can you do with a boss who bullies, a spouse who yells, or a friend who frequently bursts into tears? In his book, Just Listen, Mark Goulston shared his bestselling formula for getting through to the resistant people in your life. Now, in his breakthrough new book Talking to Crazy, he brings his communication magic to the most difficult group of all-the downright irrational. As a psychiatrist, Goulston has seen his share of crazy and he knows from experience that you can't simply argue it away. The key to handling irrational people is to learn to lean into the crazy-to empathize with it. That radically changes the dynamic and transforms you from a threat into an ally. Talking to Crazy explains this counterintuitive Sanity Cycle and reveals: Why people act the way they do * How instinctive responses can exacerbate the situation-and what to do instead * When to confront a problem and when to walk away * How to use a range of proven techniques including Time Travel, the Fish-bowl, and the Belly Roll * And much more You can't reason with unreasonable people-but you can reach them. This powerful and practical book shows you how.

About this title

Book Description

“Finally! The book that helps you deal with irrational, impossible people.” —Oprah’s Book Club 2.0

Let’s face it, we all know people who are irrational. No matter how hard you try to reason with them, it never works. So what’s the solution? How do you talk to someone who’s out of control? What can you do with a boss who bullies, a spouse who yells, or a friend who frequently bursts into tears?

In his book, Just Listen, Mark Goulston shared his bestselling formula for getting through to the resistant people in your life. Now, in his breakthrough new book Talking to Crazy, he brings his communication magic to the most difficult group of all—the downright irrational.

As a psychiatrist, Goulston has seen his share of crazy and he knows from experience that you can’t simply argue it away. The key to handling irrational people is to learn to lean into the crazy—to empathize with it. That radically changes the dynamic and transforms you from a threat into an ally. Talking to Crazy explains this counterintuitive Sanity Cycle and reveals:

Why people act the way they do · How instinctive responses can exacerbate the situation—and what to do instead · When to confront a problem and when to walk away · How to use a range of proven techniques including Time Travel, the Fish-bowl, and the Belly Roll · And much more

You can’t reason with unreasonable people—but you can reach them. This powerful and practical book shows you how.

From the Back Cover

“If I had known that “‘talking to crazy’” could be so simple, I wouldn't have driven myself crazy all these years trying to do it.”—Keith Ferrazzi, author, Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back

“This book is life changing. A must-read for dealing with the uncooperative and stubborn people in your life.”—Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times and global bestseller What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

“Dealing with the irrational and impossible people in our lives is an idea whose time has come—and not a moment too soon. Talking to Crazy is the playbook that will show you how.”—Peter Guber, CEO, Mandalay Entertainment, and author, #1 New York Times bestseller, Tell to Win

“Simply brilliant! As human beings we’re fully capable of rational thought—and yet every day we deal with people who seem to be behaving quite irrationally. Whether it’s in our personal life, our work environment, or during our day-to-day activities with the general public, all too often we talk to someone and find ourselves shaking our heads and thinking, ‘This person is crazy!’ But now, with this breakthrough book, Mark Goulston has given us the ultimate key to finally understanding how to make sense of the ‘crazy’ and effectively handle the irrational people in our lives. On behalf of the entire human race: Thank you, Mark!”—Ivan Misner, Ph.D., New York Times Bestselling Author and Founder of BNI®

Let’s face it, we all know people who are irrational. No matter how hard you try to reason with them, it never works. So what’s the solution? How do you talk to someone who’s out of control? What can you do with a spouse who yells, a teenager who locks himself behind slammed doors, a boss who humiliates, or a know-it-all who annoys you whenever he opens his mouth?

In his book Just Listen, Mark Goulston shared his bestselling formula for getting through to the resistant people in your life. In Talking to Crazy, he brings his communication magic to the most difficult group of all: the irrational people.

As a psychiatrist, Goulston has seen his share of crazy. He knows that you can’t simply argue using facts, or tell someone irrational to calm down. When people are irrational, they can’t process that. Instead, the key is to lean into the “crazy”—to empathize with it. That radically changes the dynamic, instantly turning you from threat to ally. Talking to Crazy explains this counterintuitive process—the “Sanity Cycle”—and reveals:

· Why people act the way they do

· How instinctive responses can exacerbate a situation—and what to do instead

· How 9 common personality types act out their crazy

· When to confront a problem and when to walk away

· 22 techniques for halting irrational behavior, including Time Travel, the Fishbowl, the Belly Roll, the Split Second, and Coup Contrecoup

· And much more

You can’t reason with unreasonable people, but you can reach them. When meltdowns, hostility, intimidation, or other tactics of impossible people are making you crazy, use these powerful techniques to bring the behavior to a quick, merciful stop.

Edition details

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0814436366
• ISBN 13: 9780814436363
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272