I have a client in my life who makes unreasonable requests. I know, you’re thinking, “You’re lucky it’s just one unreasonable person in your life!” Well, there are more, but this is about a particularly prickly one.
The requests are always over the top, and sometimes they're impossible. At a minimum, they're "make-your-team-bend-over-backwards-to-make-this-happen".
I was always caught off guard by his demanding and harsh attitude. I used to try to reason with him, but was always a little off balance. I never came out of the meeting feeling good. Afterward I was always thinking, "Oh, I should have said ....."
I think it was uncomfortable for him too.
I decided one day, "No more of that!" (I hate feeling like an idiot.) I realized I wasn't giving myself time to think through what he was asking. My immediate reaction was always, "You have got to be kidding!" and I never had time for a second thought before he was demanding an immediate answer.
So, I changed my operating basis.