PMP · Question #340
A stakeholder on a project has a reputation for being easily angered and unreasonably difficult on projects. The project manager would like to minimize the impact of the stakeholder's behavior on the
The correct answer is C. Emotional intelligence training. To help the development team manage a difficult stakeholder, the project manager should provide emotional intelligence training.
Question
Options
- ACommunication training
- BNegotiation training
- CEmotional intelligence training
- DAgile training
How the community answered
(33 responses)- A6% (2)
- B6% (2)
- C73% (24)
- D15% (5)
Why each option
To help the development team manage a difficult stakeholder, the project manager should provide emotional intelligence training.
While communication is important, emotional intelligence goes deeper by equipping the team with skills to handle the emotional aspect of interactions, which is the core issue with this particular stakeholder.
Negotiation training primarily focuses on reaching agreements and might be useful for specific project discussions, but it does not address the broader challenge of managing difficult or angry temperaments in general interactions.
Emotional intelligence training helps team members understand and manage their own emotions and respond more effectively to the emotions and behaviors of others, which is crucial when dealing with an easily angered and difficult stakeholder.
Agile training pertains to project methodology and processes, which is irrelevant to addressing a stakeholder's behavioral issues or helping the team cope with them.
Concept tested: Team development, emotional intelligence, stakeholder management
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok/develop-team
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Viktor S.Apr 30, 2026C is correct. The stem is basically screaming emotional intelligence at you, since dealing with a hot-headed stakeholder without making it worse is the textbook use case for EI on the PMP. Communication training sounds nice but it is too generic, and negotiation is for reaching agreements on scope or resources, not for managing someone's temper. Get the team trained to read the room and regulate their own reactions so the difficult behavior stops derailing the work.
Grace U.Apr 13, 2026Going with C. A is tempting because communication sounds like the catch-all fix, but the scenario is really about the team recognizing and managing a stressful emotional trigger, which is the core of emotional intelligence training.
Anjali D.Apr 7, 2026Our group landed on C but a few of us were tempted by A since communication seems like the obvious bridge to a difficult stakeholder. Where it lands is that EQ is the specific tool for managing someone else's anger and emotional volatility, not just general comms skills, so C is the right call. Anyone else wrestle with that same split?
Dervla O.Apr 25, 2026C is the pick, though I quibble with framing this as a training problem rather than a stakeholder engagement problem. A is the trap here, since communication skills sound like the fix for a difficult person, but the stem is really asking you to manage emotional reactions, which is the core of EI.
Viktor S.Apr 26, 2026Agree on C but the framing quibble is a false binary, because managing emotional reactions IS a form of stakeholder engagement, just the internal kind before you ever get to the external conversation.