YES, YOU CAN TALK TO THEM!

Some people seem completely unsuitable as conversation and negotiation partners. Does it make sense to try anyway? Yes, because there are solutions. However, they require reconsideration.

Everyone probably knows that. With most people it is easy to talk and agree on things. But with others it is all the more difficult. They are notoriously inattentive or never properly prepared. They are selfish, picky or over-cautious. Everyone encounters other behaviors – and gets upset by them.

What most people hope in such a situation is, that the annoying person recognizes their mistake and improves. But unfortunately that is not what happens. But what is the consequence: Does it mean that you simply have to come to terms with difficult people? Often it is not even possible to avoid them because of professional or private obligations that make contact inevitable.

But there is a solution for almost every bottleneck in communication. For many, however, this is not very convenient: A quick look in the mirror helps to discover what you can change yourself in order to achieve better results. In most cases, it’ s exactly what annoys you the most about the other.

Here are a few tips:

Is your conversation partner not listening properly? Open your ears yourself and take in what your conversational partner has to say.

Do your good arguments simply not reach their target? How carefully do you think about the other person’s point of view? After all, they also have good reasons to see it that way.

Is there a lack of respect? Usually you will also show too little of it. Again the problem exists on both sides.

This honest self-reflection is unpleasant for most people. And yet it is usually the key to better discussions and negotiations. And this applies not only to people that are difficult for you, but also to people who seem to be easy to talk to.

The simplest solution for better conversations with difficult characters is to do what you want from the other person. Model the behaviour that you want to experience yourself: Good will, interest and attention are just a few typical examples that are missing often.

But not everyone is the same. While there is generally no difference in listening and respect as mentioned above, the needs can be very different in detail. It helps to distinguish between different types of interlocutors. And yet I can understand that the other solution would be simpler: a miracle cure for all those who go against our grain. But until that happens, you have to make do with Plan B: Change yourself if you want to change something.