What's Happening in Conflict Resolution [07.22.14]

"What's Happening in Conflict Resolution" is a weekly round up of the all the ADR news, jobs, events and more. Check it out each week and view past versions [HERE].

Turtle, Teddy Bear, Shark, Fox or Owl?

The Olive Branch Blog- Have you ever thought about how you handle conflict?

In our 40 hour mediation class, our students do a learning exercise to better understand their approaches to conflict. What surprises most of them is that they use a variety of ways, based on the situation or person they are dealing with.

Here is a fun way to think about your approaches to conflict resolution – taken from the animal kingdom.

TURTLE – THE AVOIDER

A turtle tucks its head in its shell to avoid conflict … that way, it can hide and ignore the conflict all together. Some conflicts go away by themselves, so this tactic may work in those instances. But major conflicts will deepen when

TEDDY BEAR – THE ACCOMODATOR

A teddy bear just wants to give you a big hug. This approach means that the bear neglects his own self interests and allows the other person’s interest to take precedence. That way … there are no waves.

Read more [HERE].

Keep Time and Emotion from Killing a Negotiation

Anthony K. Tjan- Time and emotion — these are the two things most often wasted during a negotiation. We simply spend too much time on items that don’t really matter, because we let our emotions override any semblance of logic. It is a natural human response to act negatively, reactively, and emotionally to any negotiation points that are counter to one’s pre-disposed positions. It is also poor negotiation practice.

Read more [HERE].

6 Tips for Negotiating with Someone More Powerful Than You

Savannah Marie- When you’re negotiating with someone who has more sway than you, it’s an understatement to say it can be intimidating. It may seem like fighting an uphill battle, even defending opinions, services or products you passionately believe in.

Fortunately, you can prepare yourself ahead of time and use strategies during the negotiation to help you come out on top. Here are six ways to avoid looking like a deer caught in headlights during your meeting — and maybe even get what you want. (Click here to tweet this list.)

Read more [HERE].

Do You Flip Your Lid?

Cinnie Noble- I was unable to find the derivation of the expression flip your lid, but I have heard it used to describe an excessively angry reaction. In recent years I have heard the term apoplectic used when referring to extreme rage and for me, the meaning of these two expressions are similar. The visual of flip your lid however, conjures up an interesting image of the top of the head blowing open – presumably with fury propelling it. Perhaps, the expression symbolizes the emotional part of the brain (limbic area) becoming over-activated and overflowing with anger, pushing out the front of the brain (pre-frontal cortex) which loses its capacity to think!

Read more [HERE].

Coexistence and Conflict

Patricia M Porter- Managing inter-communal conflict and violence is critical to national and international security in today's world. As societies are becoming more diverse, many more countries are facing ethnic, religious, cultural and social conflicts. The globalization of such conflicts is also increasing. Join me as I speak with Mari Fitzduff, the Program Director of the Coexistence and Conflict program at The Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

Professor Mari Fitzduff is a native of Northern Ireland who brings more than 20 years of international experience in conflict resolution policy and practice development to the program.

Read more [HERE].

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