How Emotionally Intelligent People Respond To Rudeness

Emotional intelligence is far and away one of the most important skills that you can develop as a leader that requires more than a formula or a sales model to learn. It’s a skill that makes it easier to navigate your daily life, especially when you run into adverse scenarios and people that don’t quite connect with you. No matter where you go, you will have to deal with rude people. They are everywhere and we are all capable of being rude at times during our busy weeks. But how do you deal with someone that’s constantly rude? You shouldn’t let their emotional immaturity affect your attitude and demeanor, but that’s hard to master. Here are 5 ways that emotionally intelligent people respond to rudeness from HJR Global.

Stop The Rudeness Cycle In Its Tracks

Emotionally intelligent people respond to rudeness first and foremost by choosing not to engage in the cycle of behavior that begets more rude actions. Studies have shown that rude and negative behavior can spread like a contagion. One study also found that supervisors who felt mistreated by their bosses were more likely to exact that behavior on one of their subordinates. Emotionally intelligent leaders do not allow the cycle of rude behavior to continue through them. This directly contradicts all the aspects of emotional intelligence and it’s not helpful to any team.

Don’t Take Anything Personally

Rude behavior is often the result of a feeling of despair or like the whole world is weighing down on a person. This usually results in a person lashing out at others around them and is often a temporary behavior. Leaders, coaches and managers should recognize through social awareness that this behavior is usually not inherent and often derives from some inner frustration. Emotionally intelligent people respond to rudeness by recognizing it’s source, using social awareness to try and detect ways to defuse the situation.






Choose Not To Escalate

Emotionally intelligent people respond to rudeness by choosing not to escalate the situation when someone is rude to them. It’s not easy, especially if the person being rude is someone you trust or value, but a quick reaction could be detrimental to the situation. Instead, you should try your best to keep your cool when dealing with a rude person, practicing breathing and possibly taking a step away to manage your own emotional response.

Diffuse The Situation And React With Kindness

Rude people can make everyone uneasy and cause tension in a setting that’s supposed to be productive. Emotionally intelligent people respond to rudeness with humor and kindness, because it’s often what people need the most in order to calm down and get their own emotions in check. Even if they respond with negativity after you are kind, you can still rest assured that you kept your own emotional responses in check and maintain a positive perspective on the whole thing.

Display Proper Behavior For Their Team

Emotionally intelligent people respond to rudeness by not engaging in the behavior and showing empathy for people that have a bad attitude, but they also respond by modelling the proper behavior for their team. Some people, especially ineffective leaders, believe that rude behavior establishes dominance or power, but avoiding the rude behavior is how you craft a team that practices emotional intelligence, which will lead to far more success than rude behavior will.

Are you wanting to expand your emotional intelligence game or become a better leader? Harrison Rogers, the CEO of HJR Global and the premiere authority on emotional intelligence, has published a brand new book that divulges all the secrets that make a leader successful, including emotional intelligence. Want to repel bad behavior and attract a rock solid team or strong clients with a simple mindset adjustment? Click below for more information: