That is not a thing to encourage you evil fuck.
Snow, do not become or act like a narcissist. If you're a good actor you can pretend to be a mark, otherwise just do not engage. Count on them for nothing, expect nothing, and be prepared to leave and make your own way through the trip.
They will make jabs at you when you're minding your own business, or even getting along. They will gaslight you, portray you as the bad guy, and try to use social conventions against you. Keep your receipts, hold on to your own tickets, and if all else fails give the bare minimum of "responses" (such as nodding, "k", or "uh-huh") until they tire of you. Or if you're feeling heroic, keep their attention off of other marks.
If you can’t avoid a narcissist- understanding how they think is very helpful.
Narcissists tend towards being self centered and considering themselves “above” others. If you are someone they consider “elite” in a relevant capacity, you can usually use praise and position coupled with appropriate expression of gravitas to manage them.
If you aren’t- you may be able to use your connection to authority to sway them- supporting things you say based off people they might respect such as: “The CEO loved this idea and wants us to implement it…”
YOUR idea or opinion may be “below them” but tying it to someone “important” or who they want favor from can “elevate” it. Keeping a professional distance and acting assertively to exude a sense of authority or exclusivity can also make the narcissist feel a desire to try and get “in” with you since being excluded is for “lesser” people. It can be a delicate game and one must not be too obvious and must take in to account the individual….
… but many tactics that work on others work very well on narcissists such as “leading from behind”- either making them think your ideas are their ideas so when they propose it, you just have to agree. You can also simply “reinterpret” their words- an argument as to why a group should take the bus can be rephrase as: “so, if I understand you are saying blah blah, and we should take the bus? Genius!” This works best BEFORE anyone disagrees and especially where the narcissist is likely to oppose a majority view. If presented this way and members of the group start to agree, the narcissist tends towards going with it and taking credit for the idea everyone likes even though they wanted otherwise.
Adversarial statements CAN be effective if used right- but a true narcissist might not feel a need to prove anything to people they don’t consider equal, so trying to get them to do something by saying they probably can’t etc. are often not effective and are likely to cause you more problems.
One must be careful when “leading from behind” or other tactics that gain cooperation from the narcissist by giving them credit or authority. Long term, too much difference to a narcissist will tend to erode their respect for you as opposed to build your ability to influence them, if you lift them too high they will see you as too low. You also must be careful not to give them too much credit as narcissists tend to take credit already and not everyone will recognize you are guiding them- so be careful not to create a situation where your big achievements are seen by others to come from this narcissist. Standing your ground and being assertive while also being considerate of their personality is probably the healthiest tactic- especially long term, but it does tend to be a path full of conflicts and effort.
I won’t go into it but there are multiple strategies to show your “power” to a narcissist which can help
You gain at least some level of respect.
Narcissists are just people…
… we could consider it a mental illness of sorts. Not everyone has the bandwidth to deal with a narcissist or keep one in their social or close social circles. Protect your mental health and be true to yourself. The truth is that like so many mental illnesses or mind sets, narcissism can make a person difficult or painful to be around. We can use various techniques to manage the situation and protect our own mental health and our general well being. There is no shame in simply avoiding a narcissist if you have the option, and there is no shame in choosing to keep a narcissist as someone close to you either. Do what works for you, but just protect yourself and don’t let codependency or your own issues put you in a situation that is harming you.
Snow, do not become or act like a narcissist. If you're a good actor you can pretend to be a mark, otherwise just do not engage. Count on them for nothing, expect nothing, and be prepared to leave and make your own way through the trip.
They will make jabs at you when you're minding your own business, or even getting along. They will gaslight you, portray you as the bad guy, and try to use social conventions against you. Keep your receipts, hold on to your own tickets, and if all else fails give the bare minimum of "responses" (such as nodding, "k", or "uh-huh") until they tire of you. Or if you're feeling heroic, keep their attention off of other marks.
Narcissists tend towards being self centered and considering themselves “above” others. If you are someone they consider “elite” in a relevant capacity, you can usually use praise and position coupled with appropriate expression of gravitas to manage them.
If you aren’t- you may be able to use your connection to authority to sway them- supporting things you say based off people they might respect such as: “The CEO loved this idea and wants us to implement it…”
YOUR idea or opinion may be “below them” but tying it to someone “important” or who they want favor from can “elevate” it. Keeping a professional distance and acting assertively to exude a sense of authority or exclusivity can also make the narcissist feel a desire to try and get “in” with you since being excluded is for “lesser” people. It can be a delicate game and one must not be too obvious and must take in to account the individual….
Adversarial statements CAN be effective if used right- but a true narcissist might not feel a need to prove anything to people they don’t consider equal, so trying to get them to do something by saying they probably can’t etc. are often not effective and are likely to cause you more problems.
I won’t go into it but there are multiple strategies to show your “power” to a narcissist which can help
You gain at least some level of respect.
Narcissists are just people…