Stick to the Issue at Hand
Marriage counselors often tell couples dealing with conflict
that they should stick to the topic at hand when they find
themselves in the middle of a disagreement. By limiting the
scope of a disagreement, you’ll avoid detouring into
the irrelevant and improve your chances of reaching an effective
resolution.
If you’re upset with your co-worker because he or she
has taken off at noon every Friday for a month, leaving you
responsible for writing the weekly report and handling the
phones, address that single issue. Don’t let the conversation
wander into a discussion of the time he was late for the boss’
presentation and his unspell-checked memos.
By the same token, you should tactfully prevent the other
person from raising unrelated issues. Instead, say, “I’m
happy to discuss those concerns at a later time, but right
now I’d like to resolve how we’re going to handle
the workload on Fridays.” Repeat the phrase as often
as you have to until your co-worker focuses on the topic you
met to resolve.
|
