Anatomy of a Disagreement

Although the principle of seeing things through the eyes of others is straight- 

We also consider the important roles of praise, criticism, and apology in our 

Nowhere is the importance of seeing things through the eyes of others more evident than in analyzing the typical disagreement. Sometimes disagreements occur because two (or more) individuals truly have an irreconcilable difference of opinion, but more often than not, one or more of the parties has not taken the time to view the situation from the opposing side. 

Consider a recent disagreement in which you were directly involved. Write a paragraph or two analyzing the problem from the other party s point of view. Then consider ways in which the disagreement might have been avoided. 

Conflict is one way in which mismatches in perception manifest themselves. In the next section, we consider how the professional salesperson or persuader can pay close attention to perceptions, thereby minimizing conflict and maximizing agreement in sales and other situations where persuasive skills must be applied. 

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