Even if they don’t mean to be, some coworkers can just be exceptionally irritating. The next time they criticise your idea, or offer up a really bad one of their own, ask them to explain in writing via email.
No matter how irritating somebody is at work, you can’t completely cut off communication with them. That doesn’t mean you always have to sit there and listen to them crap on your ideas with ill-conceived ideas of their own, however. Jeff Giesea at Entrepreneur suggests you handle the situation with this simple phrase:
“That’s interesting. Can you elaborate on this in an email?”…Having them flesh out their idea in writing has a few advantages. It forces them to more fully explain their idea, so you can better understand it. It takes the discussion to a place that feels more objective, rather than getting stuck in the clash of your personalities. Finally, it gets you out of the mode of reaction to a place where you can more objectively choose how to respond.
Instead of reacting to them in a way that would cause workplace drama, you come across as someone willing to hear others out. On top of that, if you’re in a meeting with others, it shows that you value everyone else’s time. Less irritation for you, and more constructive thinking for them.
4 Messenging Techniques to Help Diffuse Workplace Drama [Entrepreneur]
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