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In your career, business, or personal life, you will encounter both nice and toxic people.
The questions I am about to share are commonly asked, but it's important to remember that toxic individuals may use them to gather information and identify potential targets for manipulation or bullying. Here are some questions that toxic people may ask for their own benefit.
If you are familiar with the person or know that they are toxic, be mindful of these questions and their motives behind asking them.
The first common question
What Are You Doing? What Is Your Job Position?
These questions reveal your status and indicate how much respect these toxic individuals are willing to give you.
When someone asks about your current activities and job position, it often reflects their perception of your worth in their eyes.
Inquiring about your daily tasks and professional role can suggest their level of interest, respect, or even manipulation. Understanding the motives behind these questions can provide insights into the dynamics of your relationship with such individuals.
Furthermore, these inquiries may serve as a gauge of how much influence or power they believe you possess in a given context. By examining the implications of these questions more closely, you can begin to unravel the underlying intentions and attitudes of those asking them.
It's important to pay attention to the small details in these simple questions. They can provide important insights into how you interact with these people.
Where Are You Living? Which Neighborhood? What Type of Residences?
Toxic people often inquire about your living situation, including the specific neighborhood and type of residence you inhabit, not out of genuine interest but rather to assess your social status and financial standing.
These individuals use such personal questions as a means to gauge your wealth and success, seeking to compare themselves or assert dominance over you based on material possessions. By prying into your living arrangements, toxic individuals aim to create a hierarchy and derive a sense of superiority from the information you provide.
It is important to recognize these manipulative tactics and protect your privacy and boundaries when faced with such intrusive inquiries.
If you are an entrepreneur, the toxic person may ask...
Where is Your Office?
By probing about the location of your office, toxic individuals aim to determine the perceived prestige associated with your business. They may be seeking validation or attempting to categorize your enterprise based on its geographical presence. Whether your office is in a bustling city center or a quieter suburban area, toxic individuals may use this information to form judgments about your professional status.
How Many Employees Do You Have?
The question regarding the size of your workforce serves as another tool for toxic individuals to evaluate your success. They may equate a larger number of employees with a higher level of accomplishment and respect in the business world. Conversely, a smaller team size might lead them to underestimate your capabilities or diminish the significance of your entrepreneurial endeavors.
It's crucial to recognize that toxic people often use such inquiries as a means of comparison and validation for themselves. Whether your business falls within the realms of banking, investments, or trades like building contractors, mechanics, or repair jobs, the intent behind these questions remains centered on assessing your worth in their eyes.
What Can We Do When Meeting These Toxic People?
In his book "The Art of War," Sun Tzu states that...
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you need not worry about the results of a hundred battles.
If you already know and anticipate that they will ask you condescending questions, you either get prepared to do a verbal sparring with them or avoid meeting them.
Part of Sun Tzu's life lessons is to avoid engaging with toxic individuals unless there is something beneficial to gain from the encounter.
It’s wiser to surround yourself with positive individuals who foster supportive relationships than waste your time with toxic people, which can drain your energy.
Focus on interacting with genuine people to build a network that encourages personal growth.
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