Dealing with Difficult People

1
Dealing with Difficult People

• Dr. Scott Pelok
• University of Michigan
• User Group University

2
Difficult People

• We all have folks in our lives that make things
  more difficult that they need to be to work, play
  and enjoy ourselves. Whether it is at our
  workplace (a dental office) or in our hobbies and
  fun times (User Groups) we can related to the
  list of folks who seem to delight in making our
  life miserable. It is with an understanding of
  the drive behind these folks we are better able
  to deal with them.

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Difficult People

• Hostile- Aggressive
• Constant Complainers
• Silent and Unresponsive
• Super-Agreeable
• Negative People
• Know-it-alls
• Indecisive Stallers

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Hostile -Aggressives

• Sherman Tanks
• Snipers
• Exploders

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Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Tanks always come out charging
• Not always physically, but their whole demeanor
  expresses ATTACK
• Arbitrary and Arrogant
• Consider others to be inferior to them
• Leaves people feeling confused, helpless,
  frustrated.

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Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Tanks have a strong need to prove to themselves
  and the world that they are right.
• Tasks are clear and concrete to them.
• Ways to perform tasks are simple and
  straightforward.
• They get impatient with anyone who disagrees.

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Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• They usually achieve their short term goals, but
  at the expensive of relationships with co-workers
  and friends.
• They seem incapable to receive or accept feedback
  about their impact on others.

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Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Coping
• Stand up for yourself
• Give them time to run down
• Just get in there
• Get their attention
• Get them to sit down
• Speak from your point of view
• Avoid a head-on
• Be ready to be friendly

9
Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Stand up for yourself
• When they sayNo.no that wont work at all.
• Respond with Now wait a minute. I am not sure
  you heard what I said Describe your position in
  a non-hostile manner.
• Failure to stand up will reinforce the behavior
  of rolling over you.

10
Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Stand up for yourself
• When they sayNo.no that wont work at all.
• Respond with Now wait a minute. I am not sure
  you heard what I said Describe your position in
  a non-hostile manner.
• Failure to stand up will reinforce the behavior
  of rolling over you.

11
Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Give them time to run down.
• Usually their outburst are meant to intimidate
  and push you back
• Stand you ground without responding and give them
  time to run out of steam.
• When they start to lose momentum, be ready to
  jump into the situation.

12
Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Get their attention, CAREFULLY!
• They are expecting you to shy away from them of
  not to resist.
• Call them by name (not a name). BOB, Ms.
  Winston! and with authority.
• Drop a book or a pencil, but do NOT throw it. You
  are attempting to break their tirade.

13
Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Get them to sit down.
• Look if we are going to argue, at least get
  comfortable.
• Only sit when they sit.

14
Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Speak from your point of view.
• I disagree with you
• I see things differently
• Dont threaten, simply state your point of view.

15
Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Avoid a Head-On
• You may lose the battle
• If you become to aggressive in response, they may
  escalate their behavior.
• They are very skill at this type of fighting, you
  are probably an amateur.
• OR worst lose the war
• If they are your boss, the consequences are
  obvious.
• If someone else, you may instill the same
  feelings toward you the tank did to you.

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Hostile -Aggressives Sherman Tanks

• Be ready to be friendly
• Surprisingly, when you do stand up to the
  bully, the tank will see you as one worthy of
  their respect and someone who is strong. This can
  be quite disconcerting is you are not ready for
  it and may interfere with a productive and
  valuable future relationship.

17
Hostile -Aggressives The Sniper

• Snipers maintain a cover from behind which that
  can take pot shots at you.
• Innuendoes, sotto voce remarks, not-too-subtle
  digs, non-playful teasing, etc.
• They act friendly and non-threatening and leave
  you feeling pinned down.

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Hostile -Aggressives The Sniper

• When we witness this behavior we often wish the
  victim would respond and lash out against the
  assailant. But the sniper has learned to use our
  own social constraints to create a protective
  place from which to strike out their prey.
• It is the very success in reducing others to
  inaction that reinforces the sniper to act as
  they do.

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Hostile -Aggressives The Sniper

• Understanding a sniper
• They have a very strong sense of what they think
  is right and how something should be done.
• They think that they have a superior view of a
  situation and feel distain for others with
  differing beliefs.
• Their expectation may be unrealistic and elicit
  further attacks when not answered.
• They feel a need to be in control of a situation.

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Hostile -Aggressives The Sniper

• Coping
• Surface the attack
• Provide an alternative to a direct contest
• Seek group Confirmation or Denial of Attack
• Deal with Problems

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Hostile -Aggressives The Sniper

• Surface the attack
• If you are the victim of an attack, dont ignore
  it. Confront it! Smoke them out!
• That sounded like a dig. Did you mean it that
  way?
• Do I understand that you dont like what I am
  saying?
• Sounds like you are ridiculing me. Are you?

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Hostile -Aggressives The Sniper

• Provide an alternative to a direct contest.
• You notice the above are all questions. Not
  assertions.
• The sniper will usually deny any such attack was
  intend
• What, who me?. No I agree with everything you
  are saying.
• They are less like to snipe in the future.
• Without cover, sniping is not possible.
• If however, they then tell you where you are
  going wrong, be ready to assess the claims

23
Hostile -Aggressives The Sniper

• Seek group confirmation or denial of the
  criticism
• If the sniper states This is the worst idea I
  every heard.
• You ask the group Does anyone else see it this
  way?
• If there is confirmation, be ready to look for
  the problems and deal with them.
• If the criticism is not supported, I guess there
  is a difference of opinion, could you be more
  specific?

24
Hostile -Aggressives The Sniper

• Deal with the problems
• Prevention
• Regular meetings where people are comfortable to
  express ideas will lessen tension. If people feel
  they can speak and be heard they are less likely
  to take pot shots.

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Hostile -Aggressives The Exploder

• The classic adult tantrum
• Barely under control
• Escalation of fury to the point that objects and
  blows may be thrown.Can erupt during
  conversations that start out friendly and
  reasonable.

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Hostile -Aggressives The Exploder

• Almost always an automatic response to a
  situation which the person feels both thwarted
  and psychologically threatened.
• The words or actions that elicit this response
  may be subtle, unintended or only partially
  intended.
• The victim of the tantrum is often unaware of
  having said anything wrong and is likely to feel
  surprised and bewildered by the abrupt change in
  the situation.

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Hostile -Aggressives The Exploder

• Why does this work? It is a learned response from
  childhood. An exploder has found that a good
  tantrum will reduce a well-functioning adult to
  silence, passivity, or tantrums of their own.

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Hostile -Aggressives The Exploder

• Coping
• Give them time to run down
• Show your serious intentions
• Interrupt the Interaction

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Hostile -Aggressives The Exploder

• Give them time to run down.
• Just like the Sherman tanks, exploders will
  eventually run out of steam. Be ready to jump in.
• If no pause occurs, however, be ready to stop
  them verbally.
• STOP! STOP!
• WAIT A MINUTE!

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Hostile -Aggressives The Exploder

• Show your serious intentions
• I can see that is this is very important to you
  and I want to discuss it with you. But no in this
  way Loudly!

31
Hostile -Aggressives The Exploder

• Interrupt the Interaction
• Ill be right back
• You are buying time to let them cool off and
  compose themselves.

32
Constant Complainers

• Find fault with everything.
• The disguised message is that someone (usually
  you) should be doing something about a situation.
• Complainers usually sit down when starting a
  conversation. They figure they are going to stay
  for a while.

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Constant Complainers

• Do not confuse with problem solvers that have a
  genuine complaint. The are normally looking for
  solutions to concrete problems. Complainers by
  contrast will start on one topic and roll right
  into many more, seemingly endlessly.

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Constant Complainers

• One of the problems with separating problem
  solvers from complainers is there is usually some
  substance to both sets of complaints.
• Complainers can easily turn the tables on their
  victims and make them defensive.

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Constant Complainers

• Two types
• The complete complainer -Everything is presented
  to you since, you obviously (to their way of
  thinking) are at fault.
• The Triangular complainer. This person complains
  to you ABOUT someone else and expects you to
  remedy the situation.

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Constant Complainers

• Understanding the problem
• They do not think they are whining, the honestly
  think they are addressing a problem that you need
  to address
• Ive brought this to your attention, told you it
  is not the way it should be. I have done all I
  can do. Now it is up to you!

37
Constant Complainers

• Three factors make up the complainers world
• They are powerless
• To make changes to the situation
• They are prescriptive
• They obviously know what is best
• They are perfect
• They are obviously blameless, innocent and
  morally perfect in order to pass judgment as they
  do.

38
Constant Complainers

• They point out real problems but do it in a way
  to elicit placating or defensive responses from
  others. Their frustration at the lack of
  constructive problem solving is genuine but
  self-defeating since it leads to more complaining.

39
Constant Complainers

• Complaining can be understood as the only kind of
  active behavior that seems possible to those who
  feel powerless to determine their own fate. The
  believe that the causes of what happens to them
  is attributable to benevolent or malevolent
  others.

40
Constant Complainers

• Complainers have a strong sense of how others
  ought to behave They feel anger when others do
  not conform.

41
Constant Complainers

• Complaining is self-validating since it provides
  a solid basis for complainers to confirm their
  own lack of responsibility for anything that is
  not done well.

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Constant Complainers

• Coping
• Listen attentively
• Acknowledge
• Be prepared to interrupt
• Use limited responses
• Dont agree
• Avoid the Accusation-Defense-Reaccusation
  sequence
• State facts without comment or apology
• Switch to problem solving
• Last resort

43
Constant Complainers

• Listen attentively
• Easy to brush off. Common to think Stop
  Whining
• Must be done in order to
• Allow the complainer to left off steam
• Lessen their sense of being dismissed and
  powerless
• Provides you with information needed for
  additional coping steps

44
Constant Complainers

• Acknowledge
• Actively let them know you hear them
• Paraphrase the message
• End with your best guess about how the complainer
  feels, I can see you are pretty frustrated about
  this.

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Constant Complainers

• Be prepared to interrupt
• If you dont stop the continuous string of
  complaints, they are likely to repeat themselves.

46
Constant Complainer

• Use limited responses
• Complainer love words like never and always.
• You move toward problem solving if you can pin
  down specifics. Eliminate the nevers and
  always.
• You never answer the phone.
• Okay you called on Tuesday and Friday, when
  else?

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Constant Complainers

• Dont agree
• Acknowledge the problem, dont agree to it. It
  confirms your responsible for the existence of
  this problem.

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Constant Complainers

• Avoid the accusation-defense-reaccusation
  sequence.
• A common approach of the complainer. The initial
  response from a listener may be interpreted as an
  accusation, which the complainer quickly turns
  into a defense, then reverses the tables and
  reaccuses the listener of the original matter.

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Constant Complainers

• State the facts without comment or apology
• Let facts stand on their own. Never try to
  one-upsmanship a complainer. You will never win.
• Be specific
• You never answer my memos!
• Lets see, you last memo was 6/10/02 and here is
  my response on 6/18/02

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Constant Complainers

• Switch to problem solving
• Once acknowledged, work to resolve the issues
• When does this occur?
• Are there times it is better?
• Assign limited tasks
• Can you give me exact times and dates
• Get it in writing
• Easier to verify facts and follow up with details

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Constant Complainers

• Last resort
• Put it back in their lap.
• Where do you want this to go?
• Wont work the first time (usually), but gets
  them into the problem solving mode to look for
  constructive suggestions.

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Constant Complainers

• The Triangular Complainer- Coping
• Hove you told about this?
• May I tell about this?
• I would be happy to arrange a meeting about
  this.

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Silent and Unresponsive

• Noncommittal way to handle painful situations
• Calculated aggression
• Evading themselvesWont or cant talk when you
  need conversation from them!

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Silent and Unresponsive

• Coping Techniques
• Closed ended questions -Wrong
• Do you have anything to add?
• Are there an questions or comments?
• Open Ended Questions - RIGHT
• What is your reaction, so far?
• What do say about that?

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Silent and Unresponsive

• Coping Techniques
• FSS - Friendly Silent Stare
• Collecting thoughts
• Something to do/think while waiting
• Leverage
• Dont Fill in the Space- they are expecting this!

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Silent and Unresponsive

• Comment on the situation
• I expected you to say, something and you are
  not. What does this mean? Again an open ended
  questions
• Recycle
• Well, it looks to me like this is whats
  happening. I am waiting for a response and you
  are not saying anything. How do we get out of
  this bind?

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Silent and Unresponsive

• Responses
• Can I go now?
• Not yet, I still have some things on my mind.
• I dont know
• Well then please tell me about X

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Silent and Unresponsive

• Break the Tension
• Whats on your mind?
• What are you thinking?
• Am I wrong that you are feeling uncomfortable (or
  irritated, annoyed, angry)?
• Expect to go either way

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Silent and Unresponsive

• Set time limits
• Enough time for coping
• Important issues always last
• Energize the clam to open if time running out.

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Silent and Unresponsive

• The clam opens up
• Be attentive
• Resist the urge to talk as well. They will freeze
  again.

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Silent and Unresponsive

• Avoid the polite ending
• Well, thanks, we will try again later.
• If a subordinate
• This is important, we will get back together
  tomorrow at 3PM
• If your boss
• This is important, I will call you tomorrow for
  an appointment.

62
Silent and Unresponsive

• Proceed on your own.
• If all else fails, proceed as if they agree
• Since you have nothing to add, I can assume you
  agree to this analysis and will comply with these
  specific points, or alternative consequences.

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Super-Agreeables

• Always smiling, always happy, joking and having
  fun
• UNTIL YOU NEED ACTION!
• Form signed
• Raise in writing
• Honest discussion

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Super-Agreeables

• The problem
• We all need to be accepted, or liked. To do so,
  they make others feel like and accepted.
• They become difficult when their needs conflict
  with reality.
• They commit to actions on which they cannot or
  will not follow through.

65
Super-Agreeables

• I will have that report Monday
• I will be home in fifteen minutes.
• I will get right on it
• All promises are made in good faith.
• They may actually see it that way.
• Or they are usually hiding bad news
• Short term benefits - Long term problems

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Super-Agreeables

• Coping
• Make Honesty Nonthreating
• I really want to know what is happening, because
  I value your friendship.
• I am really glad you liked that report, but
  every area can use some improvement. Which parts
  do you think could be better?

67
Super-Agreeables

• Dont allow them to make Unrealistic Commitments
• I will be home in fifteen minutes.
• Well, it took me 45 minutes with traffic this
  time of day, so Ill expect you are X45

68
Super-Agreeables

• Be ready to compromise
• They are experts at the Win-Win situation
• Be ready to give a little so that all parties can
  walk away feeling good about the situation.

69
Negative People

• That wont work
• Its no use trying
• We tried that last year
• Forget it, they will never let us do it

70
Negative People

• They are not aware of this underlying loss of
  faith in the future.
• They see instead a constant flow of reasons why
  life's events cannot be dealt with in a positive
  way.
• They believe that those in power cannot be
  trusted or will not act reasonably or
  consistently. They are angry and full of
  resentful acceptance of the fates.

71
Negative People

• Negativists are people who, while at times are
  capable, have a deep seated conviction that any
  task not in their hands will fail.
• Their negativism is elicited by others attempts
  to solve a problem or improve a procedure.
• Because they believe others in power dont care
  or are self-serving, their negative statements
  are made with conviction.

72
Negative People

• Avoid getting drawn in
• Negative people can touch that potential for
  depression in each of us.

73
Negative People

• State Realistic Optimism
• Use real examples of past successes or use
  analogy of current workDont go for pie in the
  sky. Set real goals!

74
Negative People

• Dont Argue
• It is a waste of time and will only frustrate
  you. They are firmly convinced they are right.
  They are sure of what will NOT work, you are not
  sure of what will.
• Provide alternatives

75
Negative People

• Dont rush in
• Fast answers to every question may not success
  and only strengthen their point.
• Negativists tend to lose substance when
  discussing problems rather that proposing
  solutions for them to shoot-down

76
Negative People

• Set the Horror limit
• Look, suppose we got that account. Yes, I know
  Bob thinks we cannot manage it, but what if we
  got it. What is the worst that can happen?
• Define the limits in the discussion and set the
  context on how negative views are to be
  interpreted.

77
Negative People

• Use Negativism Constructively
• Once you have separated the hopelessness and
  helplessness from the substance of the negative
  comments, you can listen to their advise as
  counterweights to the over-optimism of others.

78
Negative People

• Be ready to go it alone
• They may try to sabotage you or go around you,
  but more often they will grudgingly offer
  skeptical help.

79
Negative People

• Review
• Be alert to the potential for being dragged down
  into despair
• Make optimistic but realistic statements about
  past successes
• Dont try to argue away their pessimism
• Do not offer solutions until the problems are
  thoroughly discussed.

80
Negative People

• Review
• When alternative solution is considered, raise
  the question yourself about negative results
  before they have a chance.
• See the negativity as potential problems to
  overcome
• Be ready to take action on your own
• Beware of eliciting negative responses from
  highly analytic people by asking them to act
  before they are ready.

81
Know-it-alls

• Bulldozers
• Do indeed know a great deal
• Balloons
• Do not know it all. Have to pretend!

82
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• Highly productive, thorough, accurate thinkers
• Competent careful plans
• Carry through even when obstacles are great.
• Exude feeling of power that they dont need
  anyone else

83
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• They leave others feeling like objects of
  condescension.
• While usually right, they leave others feeling
  inept, confused or stupid.
• Can elicit resistant, self-defeating behavior
  from others.

84
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• Leave little room for anyone elses judgment,
  creativity or resourcefulness
• Once they have set a plan in motion, they are
  almost impossible to stop, even when it looks
  like a failure.
• When things go wrong, it is always someone else
  at fault.

85
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• Bulldozers have in common with non-difficult
  experts a strong sense that the accumulation and
  ordering of facts and knowledge can provide
  stability in a relatively whimsical world.

86
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• They believe that the power to affect their lives
  resides in them, and therefore tend to see the
  ideas of others as irrelevant to their own
  purposes.
• The know-it-all quality that seems appropriate
  and equated with strength in their early lives
  has become associated with superiority and
  certainty of knowledge.

87
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• Coping
• Present alternative plans without attacking or
  directly challenging their expertise.
• Do your homework
• Listen and acknowledge
• Question and suggest
• Dont challenge

88
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• Do your homework
• If you come in unprepared they will mow you down
  or dismiss you outright as incompetent

89
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• Listen and acknowledge
• Bulldozers do know something. You might learn it
  along the way.
• Acknowledgement demonstrates your understanding.

90
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• Question and Suggest
• Dont confront, but be firm!
• Please explain to me why you think this will
  help?
• Dont say Okay, hot-shot, how come you cant see
  this point?

91
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• Alternatives as a detour
• I realize that this is not where we were going,
  but lets take a minute to see if there are any
  useful ideas here.
• Extension Questions
• How would that look in print?
• Where will this project be a year from now?

92
Know-it-alls -Bulldozers

• As a last resort, choose to subordinate yourself
  to avoid static and perhaps build a relationship
  of equality in the future.

93
Know-it-alls

• Balloons The Phony Know-it-alls
• An object with thin flexible walls filled with
  hot air.
• They speak with great authority about subjects of
  which they have little or no knowledge.
• They are not liars, they really believe what they
  are saying

94
Know-it-alls -Balloons

• An overwhelming desire to be admired and
  respected by others drives the balloons.
• How better to achieve this than to be the
  expert on any topic being discussed.

95
Know-it-alls -Balloons

• Events that reinforce their behavior go like
  this
• I want them to see how brilliant I am.
• What I am thinking sounds plausible, so its
  probably true.
• If it is true, why not say so.
• Well, nobody is calling me a liar, so I guess it
  is true. Now I know I am brilliant.

96
Know-it-alls -Balloons

• Balloons seek the admiration and respect of
  others by acting like expects when they are not
• They often are only partially aware that they are
  speaking beyond their knowledge.
• They are alert and curious about new information.
  This leads to trouble when sketchy or abbreviated
  information is asserted as a full and accurate
  picture of a situation.

97
Know-it-alls -Balloons

• Coping
• The key is to establish the facts without
  quashing the person or making them out to be
  either a charlatan or a fools.Especially if they
  are your superior!

98
Know-it-alls -Balloons

• State correct facts or alternative opinions as
  descriptively as possible and as your own
  perceptions of reality.
• Provide a means for the Balloon to save face.
• Be ready to fill in the conversation gap
  yourself.
• Cope with a Balloon when he or she is alone, when
  possible.

99
Indecisive Staller

• When you depend on other people to do things for
  you- sending letters, signing checks/forms,
  turning in work- nothing is more maddening to
  find out they have done nothing because they
  cannot make up their minds about how to proceed.

100
Indecisive Staller

• Stallers have a tendency to put off major
  decisions until they go away. If it where not
  for the fact you needed them for some thing, let
  them be as indecisive as they wish.
• Stallers avoid decision making to a absurd and
  unproductive limit.

101
Indecisive Staller

• Almost always pleasant and supportive
• Will nod and agree in a meeting
• Will ask pertinent questions
• Will not follow up with any action.

102
Indecisive Staller

• Understanding this behavior
• They are usually people that want to be helpful,
  but to everyone.
• For every important decision they must make they
  see there will be potential disappointment or
  distress to someone else.
• Want to contribute to the greater welfare of
  EVERYONE!

103
Indecisive Staller

• Understanding
• Want to do what is right and proper, rather than
  what is expedient.
• They place such an emphasis on quality and value,
  they may sit on a plan that does not measure
  up.
• They cannot bring themselves to do an job quick
  and dirty.

104
Indecisive Staller

• They apply these heroic standards to their
  decisions and to you as well.
• They can become disappointed and angry if you do
  not seem to care or have the same level of
  commitment they present to a project.

105
Indecisive Staller

• Their major tactic is to stall everyone long
  enough that the need for a decision disappears.
• Can I do this now??
• Wait till you father gets home.
• Dads home, now can I do this?
• Its too late for that.

106
Indecisive Staller

• Procrastination leads to greater toll for all
  concerned
• Alternatives ways are not considered
• Others loss enthusiasm and commitment
• Stallers feel high levels of tension as the
  demands increase upon them and are more likely to
  defer further.

107
Indecisive Staller

• Experts on indirect communication
• Instead of candid feedback and criticism, they
  use hints and vague allusions.
• In general we accept this, as most times we do
  not like to hear negative comments on our work or
  project.

108
Indecisive Staller

• Coping
• Surface the issues
• Help them Problem Solve
• Rank-Order Alternatives
• Link your plan to Quality and Service Values

109
Indecisive Staller

• Surface the issues
• Make it easy for them
• Even a good project has some points that are not
  the best. Can we talk about these?
• If you can open the door to talk about the little
  things the rest will follow.

110
Indecisive Staller

• Surface the issues
• Pursue sings of indirection
• This is a generally a good report
• This is what should be done
• Terms like generally and should are
  indications they are wavering.
• What specifically is NOT good in the report?
• What do we need to get it done?

111
Indecisive Staller

• Surface the Issues
• Consider it might be YOU.
• They dont think you are experienced enough or
  can handle the situation, but are not willing to
  confront you with the information. They are
  skillful at helping you NOT face reality.

112
Indecisive Staller

• Help them Problem Solve
• If its you
• Acknowledge your weakness. They are usually open
  to requests for help
• State facts nondefensively Did you know that if
  you did this, you could get that?
• Present a plan If you are willing to sacrifice
  something without looking hurt, they will usually
  open up.

113
Indecisive Staller

• Help them Problem Solve
• If its NOT you
• Asking Questions to define the problems
• Is there a time when this can be done?
• Would it be helpful to have someone sit in on
  our conversation?

114
Indecisive Staller

• Rank-Order Alternatives
• Limit to no more than two or three. Five would be
  insurmountable.
• Lets look at the options, then pick out the best
  two to work with

115
Indecisive Staller

• Link your plan to Quality and Service Values
• Whenever possible, but only if its true, point
  out why your alternative has superior qualities.
• Link your plan to specific benefits to family,
  customers, clients, members.

116
Indecisive Staller

• Follow up
• Give support after the decision is made. They may
  have seconds thoughts and retract a decision.

117
Indecisive Staller

• Keep Control, Set limits
• Okay, this is my understanding, if I dont hear
  from you in two days, I can go ahead and order
  that part.
• Fine, thank you. I will stop by tomorrow to pick
  that up from you.

118
Indecisive Staller

• Watch for Overload
• If pushed they can explode and make a decision
  completely contrary to your intended goal.
• Once they make a impulsive decision they often
  refuse to reconsider them.

119
References

• Coping with Difficult People, Dr. Robert Bramson,
  PhD. DoubleDay Press, 1981
• Coping with Difficult People in the Health Care
  Setting. Dr. William Umiker, Practical Laboratory
  Management Series, 1994.