{"id":5086,"date":"2010-02-25T16:55:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-25T21:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/"},"modified":"2010-02-25T16:55:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-25T21:55:00","slug":"how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Communicate With an Egomaniac"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The world\u2019s most famous athlete and a two-time presidential contender both torpedoed their careers with their self-destructive narcissism. Tiger Woods referred to his ego- maniacal state as a \u201csense of entitlement\u201d in his televised mea culpa. John Edwards outed himself as a narcissist in an ABC interview after he was caught cheating on his cancer-stricken wife.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps there\u2019s someone in your world who\u2019s narcissistic. You may find it challenging to communicate with a person who\u2019s grown accustomed to being puffed up by praise and attention. Surrounded by deferential people \u2013 their power walls adorned with plaques \u2013 they\u2019ve become bloated versions of themselves. How do you get your message across to a person with an inflated ego?<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s back up for a moment. You may not have put a label on their behavior, but here are a few clues to help you identify the egomaniac in your life. You can often peg a narcissist by their:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>grandiose sense of self-importance<\/li>\n<li>self-absorption<\/li>\n<li>sense of entitlement<\/li>\n<li>impulsiveness<\/li>\n<li>craving for excessive admiration<\/li>\n<li>preoccupation with power<\/li>\n<li>lack of empathy<\/li>\n<li>judgmental, critical nature<\/li>\n<li>belief that rules don\u2019t apply to them<\/li>\n<li>intolerance to setbacks or slights<\/li>\n<li>explosive anger when frustrated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Know anyone like that? Let\u2019s set aside their vanity (and their sexual vitality in the case of our two high-profile narcissists) and focus on their behavior towards YOU when they get frustrated. Ever been the target of a narcissist\u2019s anger or condemnation? Their once-charming personality morphs into melt-down mode. They\u00a0<em>lob verbal grenades<\/em>\u00a0at you and\u00a0<em>howl at the moon<\/em>. It\u2019s painful to be on the receiving end of their demanding, demeaning behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Here are 5 quick tips to help you communicate more effectively with a narcissist:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Give them options.<\/strong>\u00a0Beneath their bluster, narcissistic people fear being left out of the loop. They crave control. It\u2019s far better to offer them options to choose from, rather than feeding them ready-made decisions. They\u2019ll tear other people\u2019s decisions to shreds. Giving them options helps them feel respected and in control. It also prevents nasty hissy fits.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Focus on solutions, not problems<\/strong>. When you explain a problem or a challenge to a narcissist, direct attention to the solution. Don\u2019t allow them to dissect the problem over and over again. Narcissists love drama and revel in the chaos. They\u2019re easily agitated when frustrated. Define problems and present possible solutions, so they don\u2019t smell blood in the water and tear you apart.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make them the hero<\/strong>. Narcissists are preoccupied with power and truly believe they are special and unique. They live for attention and admiration. Want them to do something? Tell them how great they are at it and watch them perform. Better yet, praise their performance in front of others. Just keep it real, please.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Let them think it\u2019s their idea<\/strong>. Narcissists often steal the credit for ideas that aren\u2019t theirs. Why do they do that? Strangely, they truly believe that hijacked results are their own. Grabbing credit is a driving force for them. If this gets things done, I say learn to live with it. Over time, everyone will catch on \u2013 wink, wink. Meantime, graciously transferring credit for ideas to them makes things happen.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Manage their emotional blind spot<\/strong>. Egomaniacs lack empathy. They\u2019re so caught up in their own world that it doesn\u2019t occur to them to consider your feelings or viewpoints. It\u2019s a huge blind spot. You must put your own feelings on the table if you choose to do so. Just be smart about sharing feelings with a narcissist. Brace yourself for the guilt trips and disparaging criticism that narcissists often dole out when others explain how they feel.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For those of you stuck in a tough relationship \u2013 either professionally or personally \u2013 I hope you\u2019ll find these tips helpful and will pass them on to others who need them. I believe the key to communicating successfully with a narcissist is to smartly manage the relationship, not just cope with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The world\u2019s most famous athlete and a two-time presidential contender both torpedoed their careers with their self-destructive narcissism. Tiger Woods referred to his ego- maniacal state as a \u201csense of entitlement\u201d in his televised mea culpa. John&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,52],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Communicate With an Egomaniac - Connie Dieken<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Communicate With an Egomaniac - Connie Dieken\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The world\u2019s most famous athlete and a two-time presidential contender both torpedoed their careers with their self-destructive narcissism. 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John...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connie Dieken\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-25T21:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/john-edwards-tiger-woods.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connie Dieken\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connie Dieken\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connie Dieken\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e5dbe29cb8d0c89c506717ba29f0a179\"},\"headline\":\"How to Communicate With an Egomaniac\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-25T21:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-02-25T21:55:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/\"},\"wordCount\":680,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/john-edwards-tiger-woods.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Communication Skills\",\"Leadership Influence\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/conniedieken.com\/how-to-communicate-with-an-egomaniac1\/\",\"name\":\"How to Communicate With an Egomaniac - 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