7 Useful Tips on How to Communicate with an Irrational Person ...

1. Remain Calm

One of the most helpful tips on how to communicate with an irrational person is to try to remain calm and to avoid getting all worked up, no matter how hard. Just take a deep breath, think of something that will make you feel good, that will help you calm down and that will help you see things from a different perspective. If you respond with anger, they will think that their anger is justified. This will only make them feel even angrier and the entire situation might escalate. Learn how to control your temper and remember that your goal is to make them feel calm as well, so you’ll be able to reason with them.

2. See Things from Their Perspective

Before making any decision, try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and see things from their perspective. Maybe they are just frustrated because they are having a bad day or they are just going to a rough time and they can’t see things clearly. Allow them to explain themselves and once they finish, try to present them your point of view.

3. Make Sure You Know What You Are Talking about

Another very important thing you should do if you are trying to reason with someone is to make sure you know what you are talking about. Ensure you're right - check all the facts and then, when you are sure you know what you are talking about, present your argument. Make sure you are not using faulty information to prove your point and that your position is well thought out, well documented and that you’ve done your research.

4. Set Boundaries

When you are dealing with someone who is being irrational, try to set some clear boundaries or limits, so to let them know what behavior you think is acceptable and what actions you can’t tolerate. Just tell them what you are not willing to put up with and remain calm. Make your conditions clear and ask them to respect your boundaries, since you will do the same with theirs.

5. Be Concise

Be clear and concise when you are stating your arguments. Be careful and have patience with those people who do not speak the same language as you, because language barriers can lead to a lot of frustration and you might not understand what they intended to say. Just be as clear as you can be, use simple terms and make sure they understand what you are trying to say.

6. Use Their Name

When you are talking to an irrational person, make sure you always use their name in order to make a personal connection. Make them aware that they are invested in the conversation and that they are responsible for the way they are behaving and especially for what they are saying. Also, let them know that you really care about their problem, that you are trying to find a solution to it and that you are there to help them.

7. Realize That Sometimes You Just Can’t Win

Sometimes you just have to realize that there’s no winning and that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get through to a person. There are a lot of irrational and angry people who just need to vent, so try to remain calm, let them say what they want to say, so they can get it out of their system, try to endure their fury and then, maybe they will be more reasonable and they will listen to your arguments.

It’s not always easy to reason with someone who behaves in an irrational way. You need to have a lot of patience and you need to remain calm, no matter how angry they get. You wouldn’t want to make things worse, so try to keep your cool and look for different ways to reason with them. How do you communicate with an irrational person? Do you have any other tips you could give us on this matter? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section!