Resolving conflict through communication.

Communication (Photo credit: DailyPic)

Conflict situations constantly occur day in and day out. Think about the last conflict you were involved in. How did it go? Do you handle the conflict situations well? 

Communication is the key to resolve conflicts; however, conflict situations will lead to communication breakdown. Have you ever withdrawn from a person after a conflict? Withdrawing from a person after having a conflict and stopping all communications with that person is a common way people handle conflict. This is called the “silent treatment” strategy, and it is one of the most destructive strategies you can adopt in a conflict situations.

There are consequences if you use the silent strategy to cope with a conflict situations. 

The consequences are given below:

• Communication with that person you are in conflict with will come to a complete halt.
• Relationship will begin to deteriorate.
• Stress levels will run high when you meet that person, and this is more so if that person is a loved one.
• There is danger of further conflicts occurring and piling up over the first conflict.
• Conflict may reach to the point of no return and one more conflict may be the “last straw on the camel’s back.”

What must you do for resolving conflict? The first step is to resist the urge to adopt the “silent treatment” strategy. 
 
Here are some very powerful steps for resolving conflict:
 

• Resolve to start the process of communication at an appropriate time.
• Tell the person that he or she is very important for you and you are sorry that there is a conflict situation between him /her and you.
• Acknowledge the feelings on both sides.
• Tell the person that resolving conflict is very important for you.
• Establish some ground rules for resolving conflict: there will be mutual respect, empathic listening and a win-win approach from both the sides.
• Put all the elements and facts about the conflict on the table
• Look at the conflict from the same side of the table and end up resolving conflict to the full satisfaction of that person and you.

As you can see communication is the key to resolve conflict. Get into the habit of establishing communication with the person you have had a conflict with at the earliest.
 
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