How to cope with difficult people: Making human relations harmonious and effective

Some people seem impossible. They're not — once you know how they work.

Difficult people are everywhere: the explosive boss, the colleague who takes credit for your ideas, the relative who criticizes everything you do, the chronic complainer who drains the room, the silent type you can't get a word out of. You can't cure them — most would need therapy for that. But you can stop them from ruining your day, protect yourself from their attacks, and still get what you want from them.

Drawing on fifteen years of research and seminars given to thousands of executives, communication experts Alain Houel and Christian H. Godefroy hand you a complete, field-tested strategy for turning your most draining relationships into workable — even harmonious — ones.

Inside, you'll learn how to:

• Recognize the three main types of difficult people — Aggressives, Negatives and Clams — and the specific tactics that work on each
• Build "inner shields" so hostility and negativity stop getting under your skin
• Use words as precision tools to defuse attacks without escalating them
• Escape "verbal ping-pong" — and why playing offense always makes things worse
• Apply four simple stages to assess any situation and choose the right response
• Negotiate everyday wins without arousing resistance or resentment
• Deploy the supreme weapon: humour that takes the drama out of any confrontation
• Face the uncomfortable question: what if the difficult person is you?

Whether it happens at the office, at home, at school or across the counter, every encounter with a difficult person can become a cause for success instead of failure. And because coping with difficult people also means facing your own fears, this book leaves you with more than tactics: calmer relationships, built on ease, trust and honesty.

Stop dreading difficult conversations. Get your copy today and make them painless.