I recently got an email that I enjoyed a lot promoting this seminar: Dealing with Difficult People (“Techniques for handling difficult people with tact and skill”).

Never again fall victim to those who love to make life miserable for the rest of us. This training gives you concrete techniques for dealing with difficult people in the workplace and at home. It provides specific strategies for getting adversaries to cooperate … bullies to back off … wallflowers to open up … chronic complainers to quiet down.

Check out the site. I like the list of undesirables and how they single out both “Yes” people (“They agree to any commitment, yet rarely deliver. You can’t trust them to follow through.”)...and then “No” people (“They are quick to point out why something won’t work. Worse, they’re inflexible.”) What about those awful “Maybe” people!?

And I’m fascinated by the portion of the day titled “Be less of a target for difficult people.” Man, this sounds like David Brent territory.

The ironic part is that the attendees of this seminar are probably the most difficult people imaginable: those who are convinced that everyone else is the problem.