A person can be arrogant but not show it externally to others due to his or her thoughts, actions and emotions. Often people who are arrogant are not aware of their own behavior or like to live in self denial of the obvious fact that they are arrogant.

Arrogant image

This makes reasonable communication difficult and arguments impossible to resolve fairly as the arrogant person will not accept the other person’s point of view, no matter how logical or correct it is, because the arrogant person is really having an emotional argument about his own arrogance.

Arrogance is weaponized pride.

Here is an effective way to handle an arrogant person

Be compassionate, but don’t try to fix the person: The need for superiority is deeply rooted and ranges from low self-esteem to an unquenchable thirst for praise to a lack of empathy for those who are or appear to be less accomplished. Only the arrogant person can confront such a problem with sustained effort. On the other hand, and as always, it brings peace to your heart and potentially to the situation if you can have compassion for the unhappiness of others.

Connect with your own inner security: The best way to deal with an arrogant person is to find your own inner sense of security. When you can find your own confidence, nothing would be done to you by the arrogant, that will undermine you.

Accept the fact that the other indeed feels superior: There is nothing you can do in the future or have done in the past to make him or her arrogant. He or she suffers from a problem that goes far beyond you. Most important, understand that accepting feelings of superiority in another person does not mean that you must feel inferior in turn. Look at it as a game that you can refuse to play.

Communicate directly: Sometimes it is advisable to tell the other person how they came across. It is good to remind an arrogant person that no one knows that much considering life’s mysteries, and that no one can claim absolute truth.

As long as it does not harm you later, do not suppress yourself: Use disarming sentences such as, “Forgive me for interrupting, but…”, or “Maybe you did not mean to sound arrogant/hurt my feelings/come across as if you are 100 percent right, but… .” If the arrogance is an aberration, ask if anything negative happened that day.

Involve a mediator or a greater number of people: Sometimes direct communication backfires, which is why you might want to include a third party to help diffuse the situation. Without being vindictive, stand up for yourself under the guidance of someone else.

Seek the support you need. Sometimes you might have to find allies and stand together against a particularly harmful arrogant person or persons.

Reduce the harm by setting limits: We cannot always choose with whom we work and must deal with, but we can set limits. Before meeting with an arrogant person, decide how much time you will spend together and about what subjects you will or will not speak..

If you cannot keep distance despite great effort, maybe it is time to plan to sever the ties: Nobody should remain silent and endure abuse, whether in a personal or professional relationship.

Be mindful: Whatever you decide to do, do things deliberately, thoughtfully, and with as much love as possible.

Arrogant people cause others to lose their temper and become their worst self: Observe your reactions with self-compassion and your long-term interest in mind.

Know their secret: Overconfident people are often quite insecure, and they cover up their insecurities through dominating and controlling others. They find it hard to admit being wrong, and they will often cling to a belief even in the face of evidence that it’s outdated or wrong.

Change the subject: Another great tool for handling overconfident people is a simple pivot to a new topic. By changing the conversation, you can discontinue the overconfident person’s dominance. If they try to return to the old topic, politely point out that everyone has already made their views known, and return to yet another new topic.

Keep your distance to avoid confrontation: If you’ve tried all the other techniques to no avail, you can still lessen the impact of an arrogant overconfident person. Keep your distance so you can keep your sanity.

As Charles Bukowski so brilliantly stated, the problem with the world, is that the intelligent people are full of doubts,while the stupid ones are full of confidence.