Difficult People: How to Deal with Impossible Clients, Bosses and Employees

Alexander Craig, a journalist in Lennoxville, Quebec, was a political
science professor at the University of Western Ontario.

We’ve all met them—the “impossible clients, bosses and
employees” referred to in this book’s subtitle. Its front cover asks
“Nasty Customers? Boss on the Rampage? Uncooperative Colleagues? Upset
Secretary?”

Books, of course, can only do so much. Other little things—like
definition, will, and chance—also have roles to play. Nonetheless,
this volume’s Edmonton-based author has presented her seminar, Dealing
with Difficult People, to more than ten thousand people in North America
and Australia. She dedicates her book to those participants, as she
passes “on their ideas so others might benefit from their
experience.”

She offers her readers the fruits of her own extensive experience in
dealing with the difficult subject of working with people who are not
easy to work with. She takes the reader through understanding behavior
and its effects, and then summarizes basic communication skills and
techniques for specific situations. In a way this is an interactive
book: interspersed among the examples, steps, and other pointers are
quizzes to help readers rate how they would deal with particular
problems.

The book is written in a chatty, communicative style. The author
suggests lots of stress relievers, along with methods of counselling
other people, of accepting compliments, and so on. She concludes with a
short chapter titled “Are You Ready for Success?” People who must
face stressful situations with the public and with co-workers might find
useful ideas and encouragement here.