Repeating the specifics of the difficult person's old mistakes will only serve to convince him or her that you're cataloguing every misstep. No matter how impressive the list may be from your point of view, you shouldn't fixate on it while there's still a chance to improve the relationship. Everyone else may be focusing on some situation in which the person you're dealing with fell short, but you have the wisdom and maturity necessary to see things in the proper perspective. Making it clear that your own sense of fair play has led you to invest time and energy in this relationship. Stressing mutual opportunities.
Wonders Praise every positive outcome, and connect it to trust.
Virtually every positive, goal-oriented outcome in the relationship can be tied somehow to the idea of trust. Highlighting these events will help you help the difficult person to start thinking of himself or herself in a new way. By finding appropriate, believable situations to send messages like these, you stand a pretty good chance of letting the other person know that you, at least, have enough on the ball to recognize a straight shooter when you see one. Reality Check Treating people as though they were trustworthy is an excellent way to inspire mutual trust most of the time. If the potential for a long-term trusting relationship isn't there, you'll probably know in short order.