Guide for freelancer to communicate with "difficult" people

Being a freelancer, does this mean that you will no longer have to deal with difficult people at work?

At first glance it seems that this is so. As freelancers, many of us work for ourselves (or at least we are not in the office, surrounded by other people).

Problems in communicating with Kolya, who often speaks loudly on the phone behind the next partition on his personal affairs, while you are trying to work or with Ira, who has occupied the copier for personal use, will disappear if you decide to do freelancing as your main job.
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However, no freelancer, in fact, does not work alone. We can be absolutely alone in our home office, but still our earnings depend on other people. At a minimum, all freelancers have to deal with clients. So we earn.

Although we may not face the daily difficulties that we encounter when working with other people in the office, freelancers still need to know how to deal with difficult people. This article will explain in what situations you may encounter difficult people and what steps to take in such cases.

Where to begin?

At first, this can lead to a stupor, when you, as a freelancer, will have to deal with some difficult person.

“I thought I was done with this when I stopped working for my uncle,” you could say about yourself.

While daily problems may not be as significant, the risk of dealing with difficult people being a freelancer is much higher, because sometimes even your earnings can be at stake. There is one main question to ask yourself when you come across a difficult person. Why?

Why is it difficult to make contact with this person?

There are at least three reasons why it may be difficult for a freelancer to find a common language with anyone:

1. Differences in communication methods. You can communicate in different ways. It is more convenient to communicate with different people in a certain way. For example, I prefer to communicate via email. As a writer, I like emails more when all the nuances of the project and its discussion are presented in writing. For some of my clients, however, email is not their preferred method of communication. They are much more likely to talk on the phone.
2. Different level of knowledge. It is natural, but it is wrong to assume that everyone else knows as much and understands the same things that we know and understand. For example, a freelancer might think that a client is specifically trying to lower the price for a large amount of work. Although, sometimes, the client does not really understand all the specific features of the project.
3. Different life experiences. In theory, it is impossible to know what the other person is experiencing at any given time, unless he himself tells you. This is especially true when you are dealing with someone online, someone you have never met in real life. It is important to remember that most people behave very differently when they are under stress or are in a difficult life situation.

Once you understand why it’s difficult to communicate with a person, you can decide what to do next. Usually, you have three options:

• Try to keep your relationship with this person.
• Do not pay attention to the difficulties in the relationship between you.
• Break your relationship with this person.

Further we will consider each of these parameters in more detail.

How to keep relationships with difficult people?

The first thing you should do when confronted with a difficult person is to try to save the relationship, especially if this difficult person is your client.

Even if the person is not currently your client, you have to consider that the world of freelancing can be surprisingly small. You never know when a certain person can become your client or employee. If it is in your power, then you should try to maintain a relationship.

If you were able to find the reason why it is difficult to communicate with a person, then it is in your power to fix it. Most often this will mean that you have to adapt to work otherwise. In some cases, have to suppress their pride.

Here are some solutions for specific problems:

1. Difficulties in communication. Try to communicate differently. If you are more comfortable communicating via e-mail, but you feel that the other person is not satisfied with this kind of communication, then invite him to discuss the project by phone. If geographically you are close enough to each other, then you can offer to meet in person. Another effective way to say something like this: “It seems to me that we do not quite understand each other. Maybe I should do something different? "
2. Difficulties with the level of knowledge. If a situation arises when you know more than another person, you usually have the opportunity to train the other person so that you can understand each other better. If you choose this behavior strategy, then make sure that you do it in a tactful way, so that it does not seem arrogant or you do not turn out to be a “know-it-all”. In no case do not blame the other person for lack of knowledge about something.
3. Difficulties with life experience. This can be the most difficult problem for a freelancer when facing a difficult person. Someone may be in a difficult situation, and you will never know for sure about it. If you have had a long relationship with this person, you can say something like this, “Recently you are not like yourself, is everything all right?” Even then, it is possible that he will not tell you about his problems.

When should we ignore difficult people?

Despite the fact that maintaining relationships with a person is usually the best option, it is worth considering that there are situations when it is better to ignore such people.

Sometimes you can not pay attention to the difficulties in the relationship and continue to work with the person. This is especially true if the behavior is basically just annoying. For example, a client who asks for daily reports on the status of a project may be annoying, but there is no reason why you could not fulfill his request and continue working with him.

In some cases, especially when the person is not your client, you can simply ignore him. I had such a case a few months ago. A commentator appeared on my personal blog who disagreed with each of my statements. At first I responded to each of his comments, but in the end, I realized that it made no sense to answer him. The man was not interested in the dialogue. Ultimately, the man is tired and he left.

What to do as a last resort?

The radical option that a freelancer can take is to completely end a relationship with a difficult person. I call this the last resort because there will be no way back.

It is best not to take this step if you are not sure. Never make this decision in a hurry. Here are a few situations that might force you to use this option:

• No payment or payment late.
• Harassment or threats (they may include lawsuits).
• Please do something illegal or immoral.
• Frequent lies.

Tell us how you behave with difficult people.

Have you ever encountered difficult people during your freelancing career? What did you do with them?