Wednesday, July 8, 2009

How to Deal With Argumentative Colleagues


Found this on eHow: How to Deal With Argumentative Colleagues eHow.com
Some people are just naturally argumentative. You say black and they say white. You say go and they say stop. Dealing with argumentative colleagues is frustrating and can affect your work. There are many effective ways to cope with argumentative colleagues without becoming argumentative yourself.

Step 1:
Stay calm. Don't get drawn into the argument by getting worked up. Staying calm will also help you think and speak clearly.
Step 2:
Listen intently. Tune out the argumentative words and focus on the point your colleague is trying to make.
Step 3:
Keep it professional. This is your work environment. Keep your statements and behavior professional, even if your colleague isn't.
Step 4:
Think carefully before you speak. This will help to prevent the argument from getting personal and help make certain that you state your point clearly.
Step 5:
Speak in a calm and composed manner. This ensures that you will not compound the argument by your tone of voice or body language. Argumentative people often feed off the person with which they are arguing. If you speak in a calm and composed manner, maybe she will as well.
Step 6:
Know when to walk away. If the discussion is getting nowhere, walk away and revisit the issue later.

1 comment:

  1. This is interesting - I also read an article a while back on the different kinds of colleages and how to manage them.

    ReplyDelete