 | Establishment of Personal Relationships
While strong personal relationships alone cannot bring about conflict resolution, they can help to transform the conflict and make it easier to resolve. Relationships between the opposing sides help to build trust, improve communication, and increase tolerance. |
| Networking
This essay describes how networking can be used to build relationships and empower individuals and groups to confront difficult conflicts more effectively. |
| Cooling Off Periods
Escalation can sometimes be slowed or stopped by calling for a short-term "cooling-off" period during which time all the parties stop engaging and step back to look at the situation and how they might be able to proceed more constructively. |
| De-escalating Gestures
A de-escalating gesture could be an act of kindness or an attempt to compromise. Although risky and difficult to pull-off, these gestures are necessary for de-escalating a conflict. |
| Confidence-Building Measures
Limiting or reducing the level of fear among parties in conflict is essential for building confidence and a sense of security. Confidence-building measures aim to lessen anxiety and suspicion by making the parties' behavior more predictable. |
| Managing Interpersonal Trust and Distrust
Trust has often been praised as the "glue" that holds relationships together and enables individuals to pool their resources with others. Unfortunately, when conflict escalates to a dysfunctional level, trust is often one of the first casualties. |
| Trust and Trust Building
Trust comes from the understanding that humans are interdependent, that they need each other to survive. Third parties can attempt to use this insight to promote trust between disputing parties. |
| Respect
Treating people with respect is key to conflict transformation. When they are denied respect, people tend to react negatively, creating conflicts or escalating existing ones. |
