Things do not always go to plan in our professional communications. Despite our best intentions and efforts, we can find ourselves in conflict either directly, or between others. Navigating the tricky pathways to a successful outcome depends not only upon the situation and stakeholders – but also upon our ability to apply our communications skills to conflict resolution.

When the subject or context of the communications becomes confronting our ability to communicate effectively often suffers – just when we need to be at our best. When our emotions rise we often seek expression more than communication, we need to be heard more than understood. Understanding how these challenges affect human communications is a first step towards improving outcomes.