Although conflict can have its benefits as a part of a healthy communication style (with an average of three hours spent on resolving conflicts each week), it can become taxing on our interpersonal relationships and mental health, wreaking havoc on our life. Learning how to mitigate conflict before it gets out of hand can be the skill that separates you from being an effective leader and improving team efficiency.
(Brotherhoodmutual, 2024)
What causes conflict?
Conflict is an unavoidable part of our everyday lives that can better our understanding of people we interact with, but at times, it becomes unproductive and unnecessary due to things that we might not even notice.
Nonverbal Communication
Your facial expressions, eye contact, gestures and posture are constantly sending signals to the people you interact with. They may be interpreted differently despite your best interests and give people the wrong impression, leading to misunderstandings and negatively impacting all parties involved.
Different priorities
What might be trivial to you could be considered tremendously important to the other party, and unless there is clear communication and understanding of the difference in values between all parties involved, without a doubt there will be unnecessary conflict regarding the end goal.
Unreasonably strong emotions
People often get caught up in their emotions, unable to make rational decisions and in turn end up blowing things out of proportion that they end up regretting later on. The ability to manage our emotions and communicate clearly is essential to avoiding unnecessary conflict.
Communication strategies to minimise conflict and resolution
These 3 communication strategies give us a clear plan and enable us to handle conflict in an effective manner, improving efficiency and understanding between interpersonal relationships.
Think before you speak and act
One of the most important strategies to remember is to think before you speak and act. Many conflicts arise from misunderstandings from how the opposite party perceives your words and actions, despite how you may have intended to present them. Simply rephrasing your sentence or wiping that frown off your face can greatly improve your communication skills and how people consider you!
Active Listening
Showing genuine interest and appropriate empathy when approached with complaints or problems could be the one thing stopping the situation from potentially escalating into an unnecessary argument. This can also lead to productive conversations and a friendly atmosphere where people aren’t afraid to voice out their concerns and build trust between both parties.
Emotional management
Managing your emotions in an argument is extremely crucial in preventing the issue from further escalating and worsening your relationships. When you're in a situation where you know you don’t have appropriate self control, it is best to politely remove yourself from the conversation and resolve the issue at a later date when you have a better understanding and control of your own emotions.
Works Cited
Becomebraveenough.com. (2024). Effective Communication Strategies to Resolve Workplace Conflicts. [online] Available at: https://www.becomebraveenough.com/blog/effective-communication-strategies-to-resolve-conflicts [Accessed 30 Oct. 2024]. |
Harvard Business Review. (2022). 4 Triggers Cause the Majority of Team Conflicts. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2022/05/conflict-is-not-always-bad-but-you-should-know-how-to-manage-it [Accessed 30 Oct. 2024]. |
Law, J. (2024). 5 Major Causes of Conflict – Interact Community Dispute Resolution Service (ICDRS). [online] Interact.support. Available at: https://icdrs.interact.support/5-major-causes-of-conflict/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2024]. |
Ronquillo, Y., Ellis, V.L. and Toney-Butler, T.J. (2023). Conflict Management. [online] Nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470432/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2024]. |
Student Space. (2022). Why does conflict happen? [online] Available at: https://studentspace.org.uk/wellbeing/why-does-conflict-happen [Accessed 30 Oct. 2024]. |
Uw.edu. (2024). Healthy Ways to Handle Conflict: Husky Experience Toolkit: University of Washington. [online] Available at: https://sas.uaa.uw.edu/husky-experience/know-yourself/healthy-ways-to-handle-conflict/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2024]. |
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