Nobody put it more eloquently than Sly and the Family Stone: people are different. (Feel free to substitute your own adjectives; just try to keep it clean.) We communicate in different styles and when we’re agitated, concerned, scared or pissed off, people can adopt refreshingly new styles which might include flaming hair and words that, if your kids used those words, would cause you to cut off their Wi-Fi for a week. The point is that we, the paid neutral or facilitator of the conversation, have the responsibility of adapting to the style of the people we’re communicating with; don’t expect them to adapt to you. Here are some fundamental tips for five of the kinds of people you’re likely to be talking to.