Do not take anything personally
An article on the Addicted2Success website stresses the importance of not taking even an unpleasant interaction personally, especially in a working environment. Remember that the person in question simply has a different opinion or different values than you and is trying to achieve their goal. Do not regard this as a personal attack.
Decide for yourself what you want to achieve
Do not let your emotions get the better of you. Instead, ask yourself what you want to achieve from the interaction. What is your goal and when will you consider the interaction successful? Ignore emotions and personal animosity; instead, focus on achieving your goal.
Be understanding but assertive at the same time
Try to understand what the other person is trying to tell you. At the same time, do not get sucked into a vortex of insults, doubts or negativity. Be assertive in expressing how you perceive the situation, without demeaning or ridiculing the other person.
Try to listen and understand how the other person perceives the situation
Conflict and unpleasant interactions often arise because people have different opinions or perceive a situation differently. Try to step out of your bubble and understand why the other person perceives things the way they do (which does not necessarily mean you have to agree with their view).
Explain your approach clearly, even though it may seem obvious to you
It is now your turn to explain your own approach and why you perceive things the way you do. Go to the very basics and state even obvious facts. Everything might seem quite obvious and objectively correct to you, but the other person may have a quite different perception.
Do not try to win over the other person
Interacting with someone who is perhaps behaving inappropriately is not a matter of winning and losing. You should strive to achieve your defined goal but at the same time find a win-win solution. Do not try to defeat the other person, as it is likely that neither of you would accept the loss and the situation would never be resolved.
-mm-