“Why you gotta’ be so rude?” 5 Ways to Respond Positive-assertively

Colleagues can be rude for any number of reasons: over-stressed (personal/professional), insecure, don’t know/don’t care, or baseline communication style.  

1.  Ignore - wait until later when you’re both calm to unpack.

2.  Be positive assertive: "Hey, that didn’t feel good, can we discuss openly now or later?"

3.  Listen more (vent them) before responding:  “I can see this is important, can you tell me more?”

4.  Meet them:  “Your yelling is not building trust in our relationship.  Let’s try this again.”

5.  Leave:  protect your ‘energizers not drainers’ boundaries and decide (after trying) when it’s time to leave the relationship.  You’re human too.