E14: Handling Difficult People with Lisa Quick
We all have to deal with difficult people from time to time.
Maybe it’s a coworker constantly complaining or a relative who dominates conversations. It can be tough to stay calm and diplomatic when we’re dealing with someone who is being unpleasant.
In this episode, Lisa Quick shares her powerful tips on responding to difficult people with kindness, empathy, and awareness. She emphasizes the importance of always being patient and understanding — even if others are not.
Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:
- Put yourself in other people’s shoes.
- Keep an open mind.
- Listen closely.
- Choose to spread positivity.
- Be kind to others.
Episode Highlights:
[04:32] Put Yourself in Others’ Shoes
We have to choose how to respond to the challenging people we encounter. Try putting yourself in their shoes. Being defensive will only make matters worse, so practice patience and understanding. Learn how to reset yourself and others to de-escalate things and solve conflicts.
[17:31] The Customer Is Always Right
If you want an enjoyable and smooth-sailing career, remember that the customer is always right. That is, in your customer’s mind, they are 100% right — so drop the defensiveness and try to understand where they are coming from. Instead of arguing with them, hear them out.
[22:57] Keeping Your Calm
Getting defensive is already an attack against another person. It may be hard to keep your light during a challenging situation, especially when the other person attacks your loved ones. But again, you must put yourself in their shoes.
[28:27] Building Trust and Connection
Listen to the other person and let them get through what they want to say. Ask questions. That coaxes them to open up and build rapport and trust with you. Solutions will not come without a genuine, heart-to-heart connection.
[35:15] Dealing with Difficult Loved Ones
Make light of situations when you can. Laughter is always a good thing. Instead of cutting people off, it is better to forgive them. Choose to shake off negativity and create positive ripple effects. Being unkind will only make you feel bad.
[45:31] Lisa’s Top Three Tips
Practice self-awareness throughout the day, every day. When you find yourself in an unpleasant situation, work on putting yourself in other people’s shoes. Make sure to brush off the negativities and reset by being kind, smiling at others, or being aware.
Four notable quotes:
[14:52] — [14:59]
“If you all just agreed with everything that I said or if I just agreed with everything that you said, then we wouldn’t have as great of a company as we have.” - Matt
[23:39] — [23:45]
“If you feel like you have anything to defend, you also feel like you have reasons to attack.” - Matt
[29:46] — [29:58]
“Behind all anger is sadness or fear. So the anger is only there ever to cover up a hurt or a fear.” - Matt
[43:10] — [43:18]
“You can choose to see the negative ripple and then make a positive choice and have a positive ripple. Or you can choose to get infected by the negativity.” - Matt
Links to Resources:
A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman
THE GOOD MOOD SHOW Podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Anchor, and more…
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