6 Tips to Deal With An Overconfident Friend
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Overconfident people can be rude, arrogant and even affect the happiness of everyone around them. If you have a friend who is overconfident but don’t know how to handle him/her, read on for tips on how you can deal with the problem.
1. Plot a situation to make your overconfident friend feel insulted
Sometimes overconfident people just need a wakeup call to bring balance into their personalities. You can gang up with your friends to plot a situation where you can make your overconfident pal feel humiliated or insulted. For example, if your friend thinks that he is the most intelligent guy around and everyone else is dumb, get someone to challenge him in a science quiz. Pre-empt the challenger with the questions and answers so your overconfident friend is forced to concede defeat at some point or the other. A defeat will bring your friend’s massive ego and soaring confidence level back to normal.
2. Let your friend make a mistake
Sometimes the best way to deal with overconfident people is to let them make a mistake and realize on their own that their confidence is getting the better of them. Hold yourself back if you see your friend about to make a mistake that is a result of his or her overconfidence. A small mistake should hopefully drive some sense into your overconfident friend’s mind.
3. You yourself show overconfidence to make your friend realize
People who are overconfident may never have an idea how rude and arrogant they can be to others. Show your friend how arrogant someone can be when they are overconfident by being one yourself. Act as if you are suddenly very high headed and overconfident. And when your friend asks you to calm down, explain to him/her how you were only acting to get the point across.
4. Have a candid conversation about the problem
Have you thought for a moment that your friend may not even realize how badly overconfidence may be blinding his/her judgment? As a good friend, it may be your responsibility to spill the beans on the obvious problem that you see right in front of your eyes. People who are overconfident sometimes just need someone to sit down with them and candidly give them some much needed advice.
5. Ask all your friends to intervene
If your friend refuses to listen to you to curb down his/her levels of confidence, you could ask all your other common friends to intervene and help. Ask them to talk to your overconfident buddy and explain how overconfidence could one day hurt him/her. So many people telling your friend about the same problem at the same time may drill some sense into his/her head.
6. Stop talking to your friend until things are fixed
A subtle way to deal with overconfident friends is to stop talking with them until they tone down their confidence level. Just stop calling or messaging and stop hanging out with them. Use petty excuses to skip meeting them and it will only be a matter of time until your friends realize that something is wrong. When confronted, confide in your friend that their overconfidence is driving you away from him/her. If that person is a true friend, he/she will apologize and promise to make amends.
