What was the weirdest presentation you ever gave?

Hahaha :-D
Ok that was hilarious, I admit.
I see what you mean. It's just that all the other PhD holders I ever interacted with were very elaborate and emotionally intelligent people.
This person that harassed me was the first person I met with such a high education and such a low value system.

 

In my experience, people with higher degrees tend towards having lower emotional intelligence on average because they've invested so much time into book-smarts and not as much time into socialization. Granted, I am not saying that everyone with a degree is rude and uncouth but a PhD is only one tiny measure of how a person is. Also, MOST people would still know better than that guy. Low emotional intelligence doesn't mean that you're a complete sleaze.

 

Hello!

I think that guy had a high level of social intelligence. He managed to creep TeacherBelgium out, which means he has the upper hand in negotiations now. Asshole? Yes. Lack of social intelligence? No.

Best regards,
Mac Juli

 

I'm just catching up now. TeacherBelgium, I'm sorry that you went through this. To me it sounds like sexual harassment. Totally unprofessional. I know that you have to weigh the consequences of reporting against not doing so, but I hope that you understand that the behavior was totally wrong and not in any way your fault, or your responsibility to manage.

 

I had to negotiate with this weirdo again.

He only said creepy stuff 3 times today because he sensed that I wasn't giving attention to it.

One thing striked me though:

He said the following.
I mentioned that addiction was an exclusionary criterion to participate in a study.
The guy said : '' people don't know how hard it is to deal with an addiction. Especially a sex addiction. It consumes your mind and you need to unwind otherwise it gets at you too much. ''

Was this guy subtly admitting that he is sex addicted?

The other two creepy things he said during the call were:
"Why aren't you wearing glasses? I think I would prefer you with glasses''

And

'' You have luscious lips. Have you had them done or are they always plump like that?"

I decided to hold onto the strategy I used last time I had a negotiation session with him. I gave him the cold shoulder and didn't give him ammo to continue his nonsense.
I'm not saying it was a huge success but it must have worked somewhat because he was less creepy than last time.
I think that with maintaining this strategy long enough, he eventually has to give up.

The only good thing that came out of this is that he is not a good negotiatior. He approved almost all my requests.

 

This confirms my suspicions that he does not have high emotional intelligence. He probably thought that his approval would somehow translate into you getting all hot and bothered for him and agreeing to shack up with him. He may have a PhD but he is dumb as a box of rocks if he thinks that'll work. He's just a creep.

 

Had another negotiation session with Mr.Creepy today.

He was as creepy as usual.

Some things that come to mind:

He approved almost all fees that I proposed him today and didn't even do an effort to get them up, even though he could have.

He said multiple times : '' This is a flower that I'm giving you. Normally I can't allow that fee to go this low but for you I will. ''

At the end of the negotiation, all fees were negotiated, yet this guy asks : '' Can we have a call on Tuesday? I really want a call on Tuesday ''

I tell him : '' I don't see a reason to. We have negotiated everything we needed. ''

Guy replies : '' We'll find something to talk about. Just trust me, can you make an hour of free time Tuesday somewhere around noon? "

I tell him I can't.

Then he says :
"Next time we shouldn't do this over an audiocall. Dinners for these occasions are reimbursed. And I think you could get those fees even lower over a good in person talk. ''

At least he didn't mention anything directly sexual today.
But he still gave off high creepiness vibes.

After the call I sent him a summary of notes of things we agreed on.

His reply : '' I'm here for you, if you need anything at all, anything at all''

Why would you underline that last part?
That came off so ambiguous.

Glad I won't have to talk to this person for at least 2 weeks.

Before the meeting he called me on my personal cell number instead of calling my company number.
That means he must have nosed in my private life because otherwise how would he have obtained it?

So happy this creep won't bother me the next 14 days.

I felt proud of myself for having continued negotiations in such circumstances.