When they won’t talk…

They won’t talk. We keep going in circles…I can’t do anything.  As a mediator, I’m often asked ” But what can I do if they won’t talk to me? ” They feel stuck because the other people involved don’t want to talk. It’s frustrating and aggravating. And if you really believe that you can’t do anything,…

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Restore Relationships: Conflict First Aid 3

Damaging or restoring relationships

When things go wrong and people get hurt, medical first aid is essential. The same is true for conflict first aid. The aims of medical first aid are to preserve life, prevent harm and promote recovery. The aims of conflict first aid are to protect what is important, prevent harm and restore relationships.In my last…

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Giving Bad News in a Good Way

We all like to be liked and thought of as kind people, so resist giving bad news or negative feedback. We tend to put it off, sugar coat it or do the infamous “feedback sandwich.” (Adam Grant on why the feedback sandwich doesn’t work) Most of these tactics actually make it worse. So we avoid talking…

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Walking on Eggshells?

walking on eggshells

Some of us spend our lives worrying about what others think, some of us couldn’t care. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. We care about what the important people in our lives think about us. Sometimes, suddenly, whatever we say seems to be the wrong thing. We feel like we are walking on eggshells, frightened of breaking our…

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How to Keep the Peace on Holiday

“Let’s go on holiday together!” Dreaming of a lovely time with all your loved ones, harmony all round? For a great time, you need to be able to keep the peace. It might be–or it might be a disaster setting off a major family feud. Or perhaps just frosty glares, hasty hurtful words and unsaid apologies. So how can you…

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