Dealing with Difficult People

Dealing with Difficult People

From Education Channel (Audio) by UCTV

November 15, 2025 · 39 min

About this episode

John O'Brien discusses the prevalence of rudeness and offers strategies for dealing with difficult people.

If you feel like there's more rudeness in the world, you're not alone. According to John O'Brien, psychologist and author of "Rudeness Rehab," there's a pandemic of incivility. O'Brien says we're seeing bad behavior everywhere, from the streets to the workplace to even the operating room. As part of our Osher Author Talk series, host Henry DeVries talks with O'Brien about the physical and mental toll of experiencing rudeness. O'Brien says we have the power to be our own superhero when dealing rude and difficult people. He calls his approach BAM, which stands for breathing, active listening and mindfulness. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 40599]

People in this episode

Host: Henry DeVries

Guest: John O'Brien

Topics covered

  • rudeness
  • incivility
  • mental health
  • communication
  • mindfulness

Keywords

  • rudeness
  • difficult people
  • BAM
  • breathing
  • active listening
  • mindfulness
  • psychology

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Rudeness Rehab

More episodes of Education Channel (Audio)

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Education Channel (Audio) podcast page.