It’s safe to say that everyone has dealt with angry people before. As long as you interact with other people, you will have to interact with angry people. Doing this can be quite a challenge, especially for teens. As a teen, people don’t always take you seriously, which can make the situation worse. I have my own tactics for handling angry people, which I have found to be quite successful.
Most importantly, when dealing with angry people, be patient. If you allow yourself to get angry too, you can only make the situation worse.
- Size the person up. Not like in a fight, but figure out why they are mad and how they act when mad. This will dictate how you handle the situation. Although the general pattern of actions doesn’t change, some will. Also, knowing why they’re mad makes the situation much easier to resolve.
- Be assertive. Demand respect. This may seem counter-productive, but this helps. If you aren’t assertive, people won’t take you seriously or even listen to you. This could anger them a little more, but being submissive will make it even worse. That can only hinder you.
- Offer to help them, if you can. If nothing else, you tried. Just don’t make the situation worse while helping.
- If they argue with you, don’t be afraid to argue back. Once again, this seems odd, but if they are picking a fight with you, defend yourself. Maybe this is just me being a type-A personality, but that’s how I think.
- Just keep them on task, if you can. Get to the point, make sure all of your points are valid, and get what you have to do done. If you stray off topic, they could be angered by a different topic.
- In the case that nothing works, bail out. Just leave. There is no shame in defeat. Sometimes, angry people need to cool off. If it’s so bad that you have to leave, you are protecting both of you by leaving.
Dealing with angry people can be a challenge. Treat it like a tight rope, just don’t boil over or be submissive.