It never fails. Ask people how they feel about “confrontation” and the negative words spew out. I think we’ve been programmed incorrectly.
A confrontation can be just a simple conversation that allows people to talk through the conflict to reach cooperation and collaboration. With good conversation skills, it’s easy to move out of conflict through a loving and respect confrontation to ensure cooperation and collaboration, but it takes time to learn proper conversation skills, in fact, you may need to Learn from the best. I’ll try it again: Conflict can be replaced with cooperation and collaboration when the confrontation is handled as a respectful conversation.
Here’s how:
Give the other person the benefit of the doubt. Start conversations with curiosity rather than accusation.
Be willing to step back. Help the other person feel safe and smart.
Check. Deal or no deal? Ask the other person when the conversation is over: Is that okay with you? Are you okay with this? Can I count on you to take care of this then? What else should we be talking about too?
Know what you want from your conversation before you start it. If your goal is to prove rightness, you lose. If your goal is to be happy, you just might be.