Team conflicts are a natural part of life. No team functions perfectly all the time, however in order to get things done, a team needs people with drive, energy and ambition. And sometimes these people will differ in opinion, or have different cultural backgrounds which will lead to conflict.
But don’t despair! As long as you how to resolve conflict, you will succeed! Using the following three techniques:

1. Emotional Intelligence
2. Conflict Management
3. Debating Skills

In August, JCI Malta hosted two Irish debating champions who delivered a practical workshop on the use of debating skills specifically in conflict resolution and negotiations. Let’s look a little closer at the techniques covered…

Emotional Intelligence

Keira spoke to us about trying to improve and tune into your emotional intelligence. Emotions are such a huge part of any team conflict. Our own emotions and that of the people we are in conflict with can, and do have a huge bearing on the conflict itself. Below are a few things to consider before dealing with any conflict:

Historic Emotions Are you aware of your own emotional history in similar situations? Could those experiences have a bearing on how you may react in the current situation? Flip the scenario and think about the fact that the person/people you are in conflict with all have their own emotional history as well.

Setting Events & Triggers Setting events are situations past, present and future that put us in a situation where we are more likely to respond to triggers around us. Sometimes, we are unaware of our own physical and emotional state e.g. did a traffic jam this morning leave you running late and feeling stressed? Setting events like this can leave us more likely to respond irrationally to a trigger such as a request or a disagreement.  

So how can we use our EI before approaching the team conflict?

1. Self Aware – Daily check in with your emotional state

1. Self Manage – Put in place practices that will allow you to take charge of your emotions and less likely to lose control

1. Empathise – Tune into the emotions of those around you and look for the subtle cues that tell you that people are not feeling emotionally regulated

1. Manage Others – Use the Fact, Feeling, Action Technique when dealing when managing conflict in your team.

This is part 1 of a 2 part-series about the event Convince your Team and Win your Next Negotiation.
This event was part of a series of workshops on public speaking, debating, and pitching skills supported by Agenzija Zghazagh Be Active Funds.