C. D. Beard says:

This is an excellent book for the management or human resources professional who has to deal with problematic personalities on a regular basis. It is highly recommended!!
Rating: 5 / 5

Amaz34 says:

I picked up this book because I thought it might be nice to have a list of ready-made phrases ready to use for difficult people at work. What a mistake! The suggested phrases in this book go against almost everything else I’ve ever read about effective communications and reads more like a “what to do to “CYA” at work.” I find that most of the phrases suggested would, if spoken out loud to an actual person, probably make you no friends and indeed spark quite a few enemies.

The suggested language is often accusatory (“Because you yelled at the group…” and to say to a boss with unproductive comments “Comments like that are unproductive and do nothing but create bad feelings” – seriously, say that out loud and try to make it NOT sound snotty) and I can’t imagine using any of these phrases ever in an attempt to communicate positively and effectively with my employees, my boss, my coworkers, my friends, my family, etc.

This book is far from perfect and contains probably the worst suggestions for dealing with difficult people. While the suggested phrases are straightforward, they lack the finesse often necessary to elicit the best response from someone.
Rating: 1 / 5