How do you argue?

What you do counts!

At some point in every relationship there will be disagreement. How you disagree is far more important that what you are at odds about. In fact, your ability to resolve the issue causing your disagreement depends on how you deal with it.  In their Core Communication handbook Drs. Sherrod and Phyllis Miller discuss three forces, that impact us in the event of a conversation:

1. The story or issue itself
2. The outcome we want or need
3. The process used to address the issue or need

Process or how we deal with our disagreements impacts the outcome and eventually our level of satisfaction within our relationship. So, the point here is that unless we learn to handle disagreement between ourselves and others we will undermine the quality of our relationships.