2. Know your top and bottom lines

Preconceived notions can be the enemy of progress when people are attempting to find common ground, says Jaime-Alexis Fowler, founder and executive director of Empower Work , a firm that provides counseling and support for workplace issu...

Weinstein agrees and suggests putting yourself in the other person’s shoes . Ask each party in the disagreement what they really want, and try to listen to what they say. But also watch for visual cues or clues about what they may not be sharing. “What I say I might want to begin...

Polarization and conflict seem to be everywhere these days, and the workplace is no exception. When you spend a great deal of time with colleagues and managers, chances are that some conflicts are going to arise. Whether it’s disagreement on the best course of action to solve a thorny project iss...

“There are cases in which people are motivated to disagree,” he says. “It’s not like you’re looking for common ground with a person that believes something opposite of you. Many times, what you really want is to cement your part as an identity. And that requires disagreem...

When you’re working toward consensus, it’s best to be calm. So, if you’re upset or irritated by a disagreement or comment, take some time to cool off, says Gina M. Weatherup, founder of Chantilly Mediation and Facilitat...

People typically have 3 types of disagreements, Shteynberg says. One is a disagreement on values, and another is a disagreement about what is good. Increasingly, the third is a disagreement on basic facts. It’s important to know the common ground you’re searching...

As you ask more questions and have discussions, the type of disagreement may be clearer. For example, if you’re arguing that the best way to increase profits is to buy cheaper materials, but one of your colleague’s primary values is providing the best possible quality, you’ll likely have a differ...

If you continue to have trouble finding common ground, you may need to bring in a third party to help you navigate the situation, Weinberg says. Having an objective party in the room can help you defuse tension, get your points across, and identify areas of agreement

One of the first questions you must ask yourself in trying to get to a place of agreement is what’s standing in your way, says Garriy Shteynberg , PhD, an associate professor of social psychology at the University of Tennessee. ...