87Confront Bullies on Your Own Terms
I once handed a colleague some information about a photograph that was going to run with a story I wrote. She’s a person known for her temper. And people tread lightly around her. She glanced at the information and shoved it back into my hand.
“This is incomplete!” she yelled, loud enough to catch the attention of people nearby.
I looked her in the eye and calmly said, “I’m sorry some information is missing. I will get it. But I don’t appreciate being talked to like that.”
She apologized. I got the rest of the information. And the dispute ended. I could have easily shoved the paper back at her, to spark the equivalent of a verbal smack down, but I didn’t take the bait. If I had, I wouldn’t have accomplished ...
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