'I Instilled Fear in Others:' How This Entrepreneur Confronted His Toxic Traits to Become a Better Communicator This entrepreneur's aggressive and combative communication style made him a victim of his own toxicity. Here's what he learned.

I could see it in her eyes. I scared her to the point of shivering. At the time, I didn't care. I didn't apologize. But a week after the incident, the guilt of the pain I caused started to set in, and I knew that changes had to be made.

This wasn't the first time my aggressive and combative communication style had killed a relationship. It was a toxic behavioral pattern — one that I was repeating too many times to count — and it was impacting my life both personally and professionally.

It wasn't just the toxic words that came spewing out of my mouth but the pent-up rage and anger I unleashed that was highly problematic. I would also use manipulation to twist other people's words and make them feel bad. Classic narcissism was at play and in overdrive during these moments.