The Art of Persuasion (Collection)

Control Yourself

What is it that makes some people more difficult to deal with than others? I’ll tell you, and you’ll realize you already knew it really. The thing that gets in the way of making all interactions straightforward is emotion. Negative emotion to be specific. And the more extreme the emotion, the more it gets in the way. When the person you’re dealing with is angry, upset, nervous, hurt, disappointed, touchy, stressed, frustrated, resentful, anxious—that’s when it’s hardest to get the result you want.

And guess what makes things twice as tricky? Yep, that’s right: when both of you are emotional. Two upset, angry, resentful, worried people will double your problems, if not worse. So the first thing you can do to ease those emotionally ...