Unless you're a hermit, some recluse, or trapped in a deserted island somewhere you're most likely dealing with a lot of people day after day. With all the people you face every day, some of them may be giving you a hard time. Whether they are customers, co-workers, or even your boss, difficult people are part of our lives. The way we deal with these people can affect our work, relationships, and even our health and well-being.

Wherever you go, you will always encounter difficult people. That's just a simple fact of life. It might be possible to avoid one or two but how long will you be able to keep up with that? How about the third, fourth, or the hundredth person you meet? And if you're working for a large organization, there will come a time that your work makes you deal with difficult people. So unless you want to quit your job, you'll need to learn how to cope with difficult people.
Here are some tips to help you out when you approach difficult people:

1. Understand their intentions. People don't just go out to be difficult people so everyone else has a hard time, there might be underlying reasons why they act the way they do. Try to understand where they are coming from so you can better meet the needs on how to resolve the situation.

2. Let the other person understand your intentions. Other people might think you're the one being difficult. Promote healthy communication.

3. Stay calm. Fighting fire with fire won't work and will just make things worse. You can't change his reactions but you can keep yours under control. Be assertive but not aggressive.

4. Try to build rapport. Difficult people are still people too. They have feelings, problems, and personal lives just like you. Try to get to know them not just as colleagues but as people. The better relationships you build, the better you'll work together.

5. Accept them for who they are. Sometimes, people are hard to deal with simply because of who they are. You can't change them, and trying to do that might just strain your relationship even more.

6. Treat people with respect. The golden rule still holds, if you want to be respected, treat others with respect.

7. Keep a sense of humor. This will help keep all the negativity away from you.
If you're not sure how to approach the difficult people at your workplace, you could get help from someone you trust. Find a friend or co-worker who's a good listener and who can keep secrets.

You can also try practicing what you want to do through experiential learning. You or a group is placed in a situation where you act out how you are supposed to go about things. This will help you experience firsthand how to go about doing the tips mentioned above.
If, and only if, you've done everything you can and things still aren't working, you can escalate the issue to your direct supervisor.