We’ve all been there. We’re in a conference room, a lecture hall, a grocery store line, or even at a family gathering. And the annoying, know-it-all person makes her appearance. These type of people come in many forms. Sometimes she’s loud, brash, wears too much perfume, or has a voice like fingernails on a chalkboard. Or, maybe the person you’re dealing with makes fun of others, has an answer for EVERYTHING, or tells ridiculous/racist/bigoted jokes and thinks she’s the funniest thing ever.

Annoying, know-it-all people are all around us. Unfortunately, there’s little we can do to completely avoid people like this.

So, how do we handle the situations?

• Leave if you’re able. If not, breathe deeply, doodle in the margin of your paper, and imagine the most satisfying ways to knife her eyes out. (Don’t act on these images, of course.)
• Do your best to glean SOMETHING useful from the speech, presentation, conversation. Resist the urge to ask for the hours you’ve wasted listening to her speak to be returned to you. Those hours are gone. You cannot get them back. You can only hope to avoid her and those like her in the future.
• Entertain yourself by annoying her back. Ask stupid questions to throw her off. Laugh at her even louder than she laughs at herself. Get those around you to laugh at YOU rather than laughing at her. That will really screw up her game.
• If you’re at a family function your options are somewhat different. Claim you’re sick and need the bathroom immediately. (Be careful as you crawl out through the bathroom window.) Pawn Ms. Annoying-Know-It-All off on your second cousin twice removed. After all, he’s ALMOST as annoying as she is.
• Take lessons from her on how NOT to be the Annoying-Know-It-All. If you think your group or family doesn’t have an Annoying-Know-It-All, it’s very likely that it’s YOU. Change your ways. Don’t spend the rest of your life making people want to avoid you.

How do YOU deal with those annoying, know-it-all people in your life? Leave a comment!