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Dealing with Difficult People
Role Play
Rating: 3.9 out of 5(1,337 ratings)
3,085 students

Dealing with Difficult People

Successful Strategies to Make Tough Conversations Easier
Created byDeborah Grayson Riegel, Sophie Riegel
Last updated 5/2025
English
English [Auto],Indonesian [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Navigate the six most challenging workplace personalities with confidence
  • Transform difficult conversations into productive dialogue
  • Protect your well-being while maintaining professionalism
  • Move from reactive responses to strategic solutions

Course content

5 sections • 18 lectures • 1h 4m total length

  • Meet Your Instructors0:39

    Meet Sophie Riegel and Deborah Grayson Riegel, executive coaches and authors who specialize in intergenerational relationships and professional communication.

  • Introduction to Dealing with Difficult People2:25

    Explore the six main types of difficult personalities and learn practical, proven strategies to navigate them while protecting your well-being in the workplace.

  • Activity: Understanding Your Workplace Emotional Activators2:19
  • Activity: Analyzing Challenging Workplace Interactions1:49

Requirements

  • No experience required

Description

Difficult workplace relationships can consume an enormous amount of time and energy.

Maybe you are dealing with a coworker who is negative, a manager who micromanages, an employee who becomes defensive, or someone whose communication style seems to turn every interaction into a challenge. You may replay conversations afterward, avoid the person whenever possible, or spend more time thinking about the relationship than you want to admit.

You cannot control another person’s behavior. But you can become more intentional about how you respond.

This course gives you practical strategies for dealing with difficult people at work while protecting your professionalism, boundaries, and ability to get things done.

You’ll learn how to recognize your own emotional triggers, separate the person from the behavior, and choose responses that are more likely to move the interaction forward. You’ll explore communication techniques for addressing problematic behavior, setting boundaries, managing conflict, and navigating difficult conversations.

You’ll learn how to:
• Respond more effectively to difficult coworkers and challenging employees
• Manage your reactions when someone pushes your buttons
• Identify behaviors rather than relying on labels
• Communicate clearly during tense interactions
• Set professional workplace boundaries
• Handle disagreement and conflict more constructively
• Deal with micromanaging behavior
• Prepare for difficult conversations
• Avoid communication habits that escalate tension
• Decide what is within your control — and what is not
• Protect working relationships while still addressing problems

This course is not about diagnosing people, changing someone’s personality, or pretending difficult behavior is acceptable. It is about developing stronger workplace communication and conflict-management skills so you have more options when challenging situations arise.

Whether the difficult person is a coworker, employee, manager, client, or other professional contact, you’ll leave with practical tools for approaching the relationship with greater clarity, confidence, and control.



Who this course is for:

  • Professionals dealing with challenging colleagues or bosses
  • Leaders managing difficult team dynamics
  • Anyone wanting to build confidence in tough conversations
  • Those looking to advance their career through better relationships

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