Real estate transactions can be stressful. A lot of money is being exchanged for a major asset. The legalities and legalese are thick. Liabilities run deep and long. Emotions are high and strong. Egos scream from puffed chests though thinly veiled emails and texts. This is not a job for the thin skinned or easily offended.
In my decades of experience selling residential real estate I've encountered every kind of personality you can imagine. What many people buying and selling homes don't think about is the behind the scenes communication between their agents. Not all agents are created equally and some of us deal with the inherent stressors in our deals (and lives) better than others. I learned long ago that how something is said is often more important that what is being said -- and sometimes not saying anything at all is the most powerful option when diffusing a tense situation.
There are times when the person on the other end of the keyboard or phone just needs to vent due to frustration caused by [fill in the blank] . Though it's never pleasant to be on the receiving end of someone's venting, I keep in mind that we are all working toward the same goal and regardless how horrendous I feel someone is behaving, I remember they are people too and need to feel heard. To be able to listen and allow other people's issues to slide off me like water off a duck's back allows me to sleep at night and keep doing this job I love. Drilling down to the heart of an issue helps to slough off the excess emotions. When you reach the core there is something to work with and the focus shifts from the problem to the solution.
There is always a solution. My superpower is keeping an eye out for the solution and not staying fixated on the roadblock. Keeping my ego out of the deal has served me (and my clients) especially well. Though it can be an ego boost to be the one my friends, family, and clients call on for all things real estate, there is always more to do, more to learn, and deeper ways to serve my clients and community with the kind of calm forethought and presence of mind that gets deals done in the ways least stressful to all involved.