When important matters and decisions are on the table for discussion, conversation can get a little tricky and difficult sometimes.
You can prevent the conversation from getting tangled and tripped up by common pitfalls with a little care in language choice and a few simple strategies for staying on track and making clear decisions.
I’ve compiled my 7 simplest meeting and conflict resolution hacks to help:
- When you’ve got a problem to solve, don’t waste valuable face-to-face time. Learn why blamestorming is a waste.
- Avoid a common decision-making mistake with silence does not equal yes.
- Don’t fall into the trap of this guaranteed disagreement sidetracker: always, never.
- When things get a bit hot under the collar, make sure you’re taking the right steps to really cool them down again.
- Learn why the phrase I hear you is one to avoid and what to say instead.
- Understand why “and” can be a much better word than “but” in conflict situations: Yes, but…
- Don’t fear that truly effective listening will inadvertently convey that you agree. Acknowledging is different than agreeing.
What are your favorite meeting and conflict hacks?
Conflict Zen® by Tammy Lenski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at ConfictZen.Lenski.com.
May and June have been a whirlwind, between clients, keynote speeches, and conference presentations. I love months like this one!
In every argument, there’s a moment when you choose to fight. It may not seem a choice, because the moment is fleeting and the decision may not be a conscious one.
