Conflict Resolution Training

Online Workshop

Conflict is very much a part of human nature. It’s unavoidable, regardless of your relationship or how strong said relationship might be. In truth, without conflict, relationships would stagnate, as would society as a whole. Conflict reveals differences of opinion that require everyone to think, negotiate, and improve themselves to coexist. Without it, new ideas wouldn’t happen, society would never progress, and we never truly know each other.

However, that doesn’t mean that conflict is universally a good thing. If handled poorly, conflict can result in the dissolution of relationships, and in certain climates, can escalate to points where lives can cost.

The closer the relationship, the more challenging conflict resolution can be. When it’s something like a friendship, distance can help many flared tempers cool relatively quickly, and minimal amounts of changes to one’s behavior or standpoint are necessary in most cases. However, it’s tough to distance yourself when it comes to work or home relationships, and the source of the conflict may require more significant life changes to facilitate.

Conflict is also more prevalent with close relationships. To put it simply, when you share space with someone, you’re going to get on each other’s nerves eventually. More often than not, this begins with simple things you may do in the way of one another. In other cases, it may be that you both have very conflicting worldviews regarding something but have for a long time been reticent to address it. It will eventually come to a head, and conflict will occur.

Family units and extended families are also a hotbed of potential conflict. It’s not just limited to couples in the home! A common problem is an unwillingness for parents to listen to children, often dismissing their opinions or concerns as invalid due to their youth. Parents of adults can also trigger conflict with their lack of willingness to step aside regarding life choices and child-rearing choices taken by their now grown-up children.

In the workplace, conflict often occurs due to incompatible personalities having no choice but to cooperate, and this can require quite a bit of diplomacy to results. Other conflicts can occur due to differences in opinion on how a task should be approached or a general environment of stress triggering susceptibility to annoyance over petty things.

Conflict resolution is not easy, requiring introspection, compromise, and a trained sense of empathy. This isn’t something that most people innately have a skill for but is something that everyone should learn. No matter how easy-going you are, you’re going to find yourself in conflicts at home, at work, and abroad. While you do your best to avoid conflict, being prepared to handle it gracefully and resolve it, preferably with the relationship remaining intact, is invaluable.

If there was a social skill that can be considered the key to general success, this would be it. Don’t wait until a relationship-destroying conflict teaches you the value of the skills – acquire the skill today!