According to Ester Leutenberg, John J. Liptak, difficult people can be found everywhere. People who are difficult to cope with irritate us greatly. In fact, some people may regard everyone of us as a problematic individual. We come into tough people at home, at work, at school, in the grocery store, and everywhere else. The extent to which they affect us is often determined by our self-esteem, capacity to recognise “hot buttons,” and communication abilities. It is critical for participants to learn how to cope with tough people because they will encounter them in all aspects of their lives.
Ester Leutenberg and John J. Liptak offer a unique strategy in Coping with Difficult People Workbook that participants may apply to develop positive connections with difficult people. The Coping with difficult People Workbook includes assessments as well as guided self-exploration techniques which can be used with a wide range of groups to help people learn to manage with difficult people more effectively. Each chapter of this workbook opens with an annotated Table of Contents for the facilitator, complete with notes and examples. Each chapter has two main components:
1) A collection of exams to help participants obtain knowledge about themselves in a specific circumstance.
2) A set of guided self-exploration activities to help participants process information and discover effective coping strategies for tough people they face.
To make it easier to discover and pick assessments, the activities are grouped into four chapters:
Chapter-1: Types of Difficult People
This chapter assists participants in recognising and understanding the various types of difficult people they may face.
Chapter-2: Communicating with Difficult People
This chapter teaches participants how to identify their communication skills and how to communicate more effectively with difficult people in their lives.
Chapter-3: Coping Skills
In this chapter, participants will assess their ability to cope with difficult people and discover some alternate coping skills.
Chapter-4: Assertive Confrontation Style
In this chapter, participants will learn effective confrontational tools and methods as well as explore their own style when addressing difficult people. For usage with your clients/participants, all of the learning approaches are totally replicable.