8 TIPS TO DEAL WITH A STUBBORN PARTNER
1. Be gentle and slow: Progress slowly in a conversation. Give time and be patient, to help a rigid mind open up.
2. Break the conversation into parts: Ensure that the conversation is broken down into small parts. This helps the other to understand your perspective.
3. Wait for the right time: Gauge the other person’s mood before you start a conversation.
4. Ask them the reason for their stubborness: Politely ask them for a reason for their stubbornness. It can make them self-conscious and help them reflect on their behavior, while addressing their inner needs and giving them insight into their actions.
5. Be considerate of their opinions: Be a good listener. Just because a person is stubborn, doesn’t make their point invalid. Try to understand the reasons why they are emphasizing on a certain point. Make them feel heard and respected.
6. Don’t offend them or tell them directly that they are wrong: When we tell a stubborn person that they are wrong; they tend to become even more rigid about their opinions. To handle the situation better, make them believe that their ideas are great, although they can always consider and see things from your perspective as well.
7. Negotiate: We may not be able to change their opinion with just one conversation, but we can definitely make them come half-way. Negotiation skills always come in handy in such situations.
8. Don’t request too much or sound desperate to prove your point: If you want to make a stubborn person do something your way, you must take a rational approach instead of an emotional one. No matter how badly you want things to go your way, do not exhaust yourself by trying to convince them.
Stubbornness is just a personality trait and can easily be dealt with. Ensure that they are at ease, to make them understand your side of the story. As said by the Swiss philosopher Johann Kaspar Lavater, “stubbornness is the strength of the weak”, and it boils down to us on how we handle this weakness.
