Q&A for How to Deal with Bossy People

It doesn’t matter. As long as you're being polite when you tell them no, you're fine. Stand up for yourself and don't worry about the other person's reaction.

Just keep walking and ignore the person. If you're questioned, inform the person that you're not a pet, and you expect to be treated with the respect due a person.

Don't say anything negative, as that will just make her angry. If she says something bossy, either ignore her or try to gently redirect the conversation. Say something like, "I don't really want to do it that way, maybe we could do it this way instead?" Be the more mature person and try to teach her about compromise.

Just say, "In case you were wondering, my name is [your name]." This will help them to learn your name if they don't know it, or it will serve as a passive aggressive comment informing them that you'd prefer to be called by your name.

Don't propose if you're not completely sure about it. If you haven't discussed the problem with her yet, make sure you do so. Sit down and talk with her calmly about your relationship and the things you're happy with, but explain that her bossiness really bothers you and that you would appreciate it if she could be more respectful and willing to compromise. You can even tell her that you were thinking of proposing, but this is the one thing that makes you hesitant about making such a commitment. If she does it again, try to follow the guidelines in the article for how to respond when someone is being bossy.

Have you tried standing up to her in a nice way? As in just say something like, "We like your ideas, but the rest of us have ideas too, and it's not fair for one person to dominate everything. We're a team and we need to work together and all have an equal say." Try to reason with her and make her see your perspective. If she cries even over that, then it's really her problem. Just insist on doing things fairly and make clear to her that it's nothing personal. She'll probably get over it.

Avoid them when possible. You can also be honest with them and tell them that you do not appreciate how they interact with you.

If you're under 18 and the person is your parent/guardian and the place you don't want to go is someplace like school or a doctor appointment, there's not much you can do. However, in any other situation you should contact the police, as this is kidnapping, a felony offense.

Find help. Nobody has the right to harass or annoy others. You could also try to avoid him, and delete all communications to him.

Talk to them about how you feel. If doing chores is the issue, consider building a plan together for who will do what. This way there won't be a need for the other person to be bossy or controlling, because the plan is laid out and getting done.

You may want to rethink that friendship if his attitude bothers you. Try to ignore him and distance yourself from him in a polite way. If he asks you why you are distant, you can tell him your reason, and if he doesn't bother to apologize and/or change, then it's better to walk away from that friendship.

Have you tried being kind and talking to them? Maybe you need to be more firm. If you tell the teacher, do it alone. Voicing too many opinions may only make things more difficult.

Just say politely, "Nobody said that you were in charge. We all have equal rights," or, "You are not the boss of me, the teachers are." Keep in mind that some people are bossy because they're going through a hard time in their life. If he/she doesn't stop, let a teacher or another adult authority figure know.

This classmate is trying to blackmail you. Don't do what she says, and tell an adult what's going on, even if she's going to "tell" on you for something. If you show her that she can manipulate you, she'll never stop doing it.

Stop falling for it. If you know they're trying to manipulate you into doing something, just tell them no and stand firm. Once they see that the guilt trips aren't working anymore, they'll probably stop trying.

Just say something like, "Can you please take other people's thoughts and preferences into consideration? You're not the leader of the team, everyone should have equal input." If talking to her doesn't work, ask the coach/gym teacher to intervene.

Let her know that you all have the right to a point of view, and that if you are going to succeed as a group, then one person cannot be in complete control. If this isn't working, inform the teacher your group needs assistance in working through the project.

Instead of having to defend yourself, try telling the teacher first. If there is anyone around who witnessed what happened compel them to tell the teacher with you.

You can either message them on Facebook, or meet up in person, to talk to them and explain what's bothering you. Listen to their side too. And offer options on how you guys compromise.

It sounds like this is an ongoing issue that needs an adult's intervention. Talk to a teacher or counselor about what's going on and ask for help. They should be able to help. In the meantime, just avoid this kid as much as you can.

Meditation is a wonderful way to find your center, and thus be less reactive.

Just kindly ask him not to boss you around so much. If this doesn't work, ignore him or try to avoid him.

Tell her (politely) that she is being selfish. When she asks you to share something with her, tell her, “You don’t share anything with me, so why should I share this with you?” If it continues, ask an adult to talk to her.

In a professional environment, you have to take orders from everyone who is your superior. It is not up to you to judge their qualifications. If they are your equal or subordinate, you are perfectly within your right to not accept their ordering you around. Professional environments have legal systems in place to deal with harassment, use those rules if necessary.

If you're talking about your own parent, it's basically their job to be bossy towards you. They're looking out for your best interests. If you feel like you need a little more independence to make your own choices, try having a calm, respectful conversation with them about this.

Say to her "I think we should ask the person in charge before we go along with this." If she is very bad, say "I don't like you telling me what to do all the time, because you're not in charge and it just comes across as a little disrespectful. Also, I think we should ask someone with a higher position before we move this on. I'm not sure it's right."

Tell her in a nice way that you don’t like it when she acts this bossy. She has no right to boss you around, and she needs to understand that. If she keeps bossing you around, ignore her and make sure you are always in control of your life, no matter what.

If he is your boss, it’s fine unless he is pushing you out of your boundaries. If he is a coworker, show him how to compromise and explain how he is making you feel.

Let them know in a nice way that you like/understand their ideas, but you don’t want them to be forceful/bossy. Tell them that you would prefer that they accept your ideas, and that you are willing to compromise. Remember to let them know in a nice way or they might think that you are being rude or unnecessary.

Work hard and show him that. Impress your boss by always being kind and responsible. Work hard for your boss and you might be promoted to a higher position. But make sure you don’t change to much, or your boss might become suspicious. As for your coworker, he will be jealous. But if that doesn’t work, just ignore him.