Confrontation is a tricky thing. Not too many people know how to navigate such an emotionally charged situation with grace.
The awkwardness of such an occurrence either makes individuals shrivel and cringe to death or it makes them give into (and become pilloried) by their emotions.
The next time you’re faced with or put in such a precarious position, here are a couple of things you should reflect on to ride that high wave of adversity majestically.
Address the fundamental issue promptly
When it comes to approaching confrontation (or difficulty) of any kind, make sure you go for the jugular – in this case, the central cause of the problem – adversities doesn’t spring typically out of nowhere.
Be proactive and quickly prioritise the query in order of magnitude. This way you don’t let the root cause fester or allow fear and doubt to take hold.
Taking a long and deep breath before pursuing this endeavour helps.
Always talk things over in person
A great way of effectively tackling conflicts is to ensure that it is done face-to-face (rather than through other impersonal means, such as emails or text messages). This way there’s no room for misinterpretation.
Try to be understanding
Show some empathy when you’re in the position of adversity. This kind of compassion allows you to acknowledge and understand the opposing point of view – which not only helps to contain the conflict; it also contributes towards a swift resolution (or middle ground) by both parties.
Have an objective in mind
An essential component of the settlement of a conflict is knowing what the ultimate goal should be.
Before both parties meet in person, it is expedient for them to have a clear understanding of the issue, and also, be armed with the major takeaways that they’re hoping to achieve from that personal encounter.
Such preparedness makes the people involved feel that they both have a clear and shared destination to work towards.
A step at a time
Once a plan is put in place, it is expedient to take it one day at a time – don’t hurry things along. Remember, when it comes to implementation, everybody’s adaption time is different. Besides, slow and steady wins the race.
As you can see, tackling adversity requires deep consideration and thoughtful execution. Hopefully, this NLP outline gives you a clear template of how to approach conflict with intelligence and impartiality as opposed to anxiety and adrenaline.
