Have you ever had a conflict with a co-worker and suddenly found yourself face-to-face with the other person as a manager pulls you both into a room to resolve the issue? It can be awkward, embarrassing, frustrating—and necessary.

A major subject in many offices and workplaces is conflict resolution. Every office has conflict, but not every office handles it the same way. Workplaces are full of diverse personalities who communicate in unique ways. These differences in personalities are what make conflict resolution an uncomfortable and touchy subject. The first step to successfully deal with conflict is to bring both parties together and have a meeting of the minds.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share these four tips for dealing with conflict from Chris Ciardello, practice management consultant with Global Team Solutions.

Tip 1: Each side must listen fully to the other side before responding. Often times when one party is explaining something that is bothering them, the second party will feel defensive and want to jump in and explain why they did XYZ to justify their actions. There is nothing more frustrating than when someone interrupts you, especially when trying to resolve a problem. The first person needs to listen to everything the other person has to say, and then that person gets an opportunity to explain their side. This process is repeated until both sides have sufficiently made their case.

Tip 2 : Identify the issues clearly, professionally and concisely. Unless the issue is identified, a resolution cannot be found. For example: This morning Betty came into work, threw her purse on her desk and snapped at Sally when Sally said good morning. The reason that Betty snapped at Sally could be that Betty had just received a frustrating text from her son saying he forgot his homework. This has nothing to do with Sally, yet Betty took her frustration out on her. Remember, you may not always know what is going on in another person's life, so try not to jump to conclusions.

Tip 3 : When both parties meet to discuss their issues, they are only allowed to use "I" statements. "I felt ignored at the meeting this morning when I was trying to explain the details about Mrs. Jones." Framing the issues you have with another person by using an "I" statement helps to bring their defenses down so that a resolution can be found. "You" statements, on the other hand, tend to put people on the defensive. When you bring the problem back to how it makes you feel, it helps bring down the other person's guard and a conversation can begin.

Tip 4 : There should be no personal attacks, name-calling or finger pointing. There is no need for petty attacks in a professional environment. When voices are raised, the conversation can get out of control. This prevents both parties from being able to continue the conversation in a respectful manner. As soon as voices are raised, each side needs to pause to gain their composure so that a civil conversation may continue.

Conflict will happen in the office; and sometimes it's actually healthy. However, preventing conflict from turning into heated battle is crucial to avoid division in an office.

Source: Chris Ciardello is a practice management consultant with Global Team Solutions. Passionate about sharing his expertise in technology and marketing, he has a distinctive knack for understanding the needs of office environments and assisting companies in building productive, cohesive teams.