17 Signs of a Conniving Person (Plus Tips for Dealing with Them)

Do you carry a massive weight because you have a toxic individual in your life? Does this person hold you back from reaching your true potential?

You may feel helpless because you don’t know how to deal with an individual with manipulative tendencies.

You’re not alone. Many people have at least one conniving person in their lives. However, some know how to handle them.

If you’re clueless about dealing with a toxic person, kindly read on to know the signs of a conniving person and how to handle them.

17 Signs of A Conniving Person

1.    They Only Care About Their Opinion

Once a conniving person decides, they won’t consider any other opinion. For instance, if they determine where you’ll have your next vacation, they won’t accept any other suggestions.

They’ll pretend to be an audience if you ask them to listen to you. However, you’ll soon realize you’re convincing a wall.

The conniving person is acting to make you think they’re listening, but their decision stays.

2.    They Bring You Down

Some people are generous with their compliments. Unfortunately, others tend to bring people down.

A conniving person can subtly bring you down, and you won’t realize they’re purposeful about it.

You may wonder why they always bring you down. It’s because the individual with a manipulative personality treats you as a subordinate.

A sociopath doesn’t treat you as a friend. You’re beneath them; therefore, you should follow them.

This individual with a personality disorder always reminds you of your flaws because it’s a manipulative tactic of controlling you.

3.    They Don’t Like Accountability

You already know at a young age that everything you does have consequences. Therefore, you should be accountable and responsible for your actions to be a good person.

On the other hand, a conniving individual doesn’t want to be a good person. Therefore, they don’t want accountability for their actions.

This person hasn’t received punishment in their life. So they don’t know what “no” means.

Therefore, they carelessly live because they know that other people will take the fall if they get into trouble.

4.    Their Words Are Meaningless

People should respect their promises and statements. However, a conniving person doesn’t care about their words.

A conniving individual uses words as instruments and tools to get what they want. They make commitments and promises without the intent of fulfilling them.

5.    They Chastise You For Being Disobedient

You may believe you can deal with a conniving person if you know your boundaries.

Unfortunately, a toxic individual is manipulative and can punish you if you don’t follow them.

For instance, a conniving individual can give you silent treatment if you don’t do what they want.

When the conniving person ignores you, an impending dread of abandonment sets in, and you begin thinking that they’re telling their friends about you.

6.    They Don’t Accomplish Anything

To identify a conniving individual, you should know their history. You may realize they haven’t accomplished anything because they’re not committed and dedicated.

Conniving people make up for their accomplishments because they don’t have the attention span or willpower to work hard.

These individuals built their lives around the emotional manipulation and bullying of people around them.

7.    You Fear Losing Them

A conniving person can make you need them. Then, unknowingly, you fear losing them.

Your submissive self is aware of the unbalanced and toxic relationship, but you worry about losing this individual.

You didn’t notice that you allowed this conniving person to make your life decisions; thus, they now control you.

Moreover, this conniving individual has a superiority complex; therefore, you always feel inferior when you’re around them.

Then, there’ll come a time when this conniving person ditches you for someone else.

8.    They Turn Your Deepest Social Circles Against You

You realize a relationship with a conniving person is pretty draining; thus, you turn to your family member and friends for comfort.

Unfortunately, a conniving individual knows how to turn your loved ones against you. But, they can be the most charming person when with your friends and family.

Then, the conniving person talks behind your back to your most trusted people if they don’t get their way with you.

Your friends and family may not believe the conniving individual, but it can be emotionally grappling because this person can affect the foundation of your healthy relationship.

9.    They Constantly Move The Goalposts

An ideal world doesn’t have irrational outbursts and personal attacks. If you’re with an emotionally stable person, your arguments are structured debates to find common ground.

However, your arguments aren’t fair if you’re with a conniving individual. The resolution is one-sided, and you end up feeling unsatisfied and unhappy.

A conniving person can lay the most absurd arguments to win. However, you can’t win because they continuously move the goalposts.

10. They Feel Deserving Of Having Control Of Your Life

Conniving people believe they’re puppeteers of individuals around them. Their inflated egos make them feel their decisions and opinions are superior.

Controlling others is the goal of a conniving person, and if you’re submissive, they’ll quickly take over your life.

11. They Go Ballistic If You Cross Swords Because Of Their Manipulative Behavior

A conniving person is over-confident in their abilities. They believe they’re the main character in a movie.

The conniving individual knows they can get away with how they treat others. Therefore, if you call them out, they’ll fake their outrage.

If a conniving person freaks out, you can only leave the conversation. It would help if you never looked back.

12. They Don’t Apologize

A manipulative person never apologizes; therefore, you shouldn’t argue with them. They will only twist the story and convincingly retell them to make you second guess yourself.

An unapologetic individual won’t accept they’re wrong; therefore, you should learn not to argue with them.

13. They Won’t Share Your Joy

A conniving person won’t be happy about your promotion. They find faults in your good news.

However, it would be best not to allow a manipulative individual to dampen your spirits. You don’t need their approval.

14. They’re Judgmental

Toxic people are judgmental. They’ll judge you and ensure they hurt your self-esteem by telling you you’ve become less of a person because of your mistake.

Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. However, no one has the right to criticize you for it.

15. They Distort The Truth

A manipulative individual is a pathological liar. They’re more intelligent than you in distorting the truth.

A toxic person intentionally understates significant facts, exaggerates, and doesn’t reveal all information.

The intention is to make you draw the wrong conclusion; therefore, you should always check information from a suspicious person.

It would help to keep your guard up because you may unknowingly allow a manipulative person to control you.

16. They Play Dumb

A conniving person pretends not to understand your point of view or ideas because they don’t want anything to do with them. They avoid responsibility.

Manipulative individuals play dumb because they want you to finish what you started without them. So it would help not to allow them to get away with it.

It would be best if you were persistent in making them accountable for their actions. But unfortunately, lazy people use psychological manipulation; therefore, you should be wary about their tactics.

17. They Use Hostile Humor

A manipulative person uses sarcasm and irony to make you feel ashamed. You may think such deriding humor is trivial and harmless, but it’s building discrimination against you.

You should call out unacceptable and bad behavior. But, unfortunately, you may also meet such disparaging humor with apathy to show the toxic individual that you don’t care.

Tips to Deal with a Conniving Person

1.    Ignore Them

If you know a conniving individual, your biggest mistake is believing that you can change them. But unfortunately, even a psychologist will find it hard to do.

You’re only sinking deeper into the conniving person’s act if you try to correct them.

They’ll bait you to have an argument with them and use your confusion and frustration against you.

Therefore, you should completely ignore a conniving person. It would help not to allow them to influence your life and emotions.

2.    Go on the Offensive

A conniving individual will make you miserable; therefore, you should avoid them. If you can’t, your best course is to go on the offensive.

It would be best if you made the people around the conniving person your allies. Understand why they’re with this hideous individual.

Then, it would help if you also understood the conniving individual’s weaknesses that you can use against them.

3.    Trust Yourself

You already know what you want; therefore, you should trust your decisions. Don’t ask the opinions of a conniving person.

If you believe in yourself, the conniving individual can’t abuse or define you.

4.    Avoid Blame

Don’t accept the blame. Instead, the conniving individual should be responsible for how they treat you.

On the other hand, don’t blame them if they don’t want to take responsibility. You shouldn’t be the person you despise.

Many emotional manipulators don’t plan to hurt others. They only want to have the upper hand in the situation.

You may reopen the relationship if you don’t allow these people to abuse you. Communicate with them about how you feel about equaling the playing field somehow.

5.    Stand up for Yourself

A master manipulator will do everything to make you miserable; therefore, you should confront them and hold your ground.

It would help you to stand up for yourself. Know your rights and know when others violate them.

You don’t have to harm a conniving person. You should only defend your rights.

6.    Tell Them They’re Hurting You

If a manipulative person hurts you, you should tell that individual. Be clear about why you feel hurt and how they do it with you.

On the other hand, you don’t have to go to great lengths to explain. But, moreover, it would be best if you didn’t ask them why they do them to you.

However, you should provide concrete examples of how they treated you. It would help if you also told them how they should treat you.

The conversation won’t be quick and straightforward. The other person may also attack you.

Therefore, you should stand your ground. Don’t be a victim. Move on if you don’t get the respect you deserve.

7.    Don’t Try to Please Them

Conniving people already know that decent individuals will try to please others. Therefore, you should stop trying to please them.

If the other person is moody, you should walk away from emotional abuse. You’re not responsible for how they feel.