1 00:00:00,685 --> 00:00:02,908 (music and applause) 2 00:00:04,679 --> 00:00:08,503 I've heard it described as a volcano that's about to erupt. 3 00:00:09,007 --> 00:00:10,181 A hurricane. 4 00:00:11,853 --> 00:00:16,566 Like slow-dancing barefoot on broken shards of glass. 5 00:00:17,214 --> 00:00:19,742 Like trying to hold back the ocean with a broom. 6 00:00:20,092 --> 00:00:21,222 War. 7 00:00:21,850 --> 00:00:23,241 The plague. 8 00:00:23,749 --> 00:00:26,121 Like being drawn and quartered. 9 00:00:26,282 --> 00:00:30,065 These are just a few examples of thousands of metaphors I've collected 10 00:00:30,065 --> 00:00:31,384 about conflict. 11 00:00:31,790 --> 00:00:33,760 What's conflict like for you? 12 00:00:35,022 --> 00:00:36,604 Your metaphor matters 13 00:00:36,604 --> 00:00:40,202 because it often reflects how you think and feel about conflict. 14 00:00:40,843 --> 00:00:43,618 So it makes sense that if you think conflict is the plague, 15 00:00:43,618 --> 00:00:45,541 you'd probably want to avoid that, 16 00:00:45,541 --> 00:00:48,503 and avoid everybody else that has it too. 17 00:00:48,503 --> 00:00:51,582 If it's like trying to hold back the ocean with a broom, 18 00:00:51,582 --> 00:00:55,443 I would imagine that feels frustrating and futile. 19 00:00:55,693 --> 00:00:59,652 So what do you do when the waves just keep coming? 20 00:01:00,385 --> 00:01:03,817 Because conflict washes ashore in all of our relationships; 21 00:01:03,817 --> 00:01:06,887 at home, at work, in our neighborhoods. 22 00:01:07,128 --> 00:01:10,743 And you've probably already been given advice on how you should deal with it. 23 00:01:10,743 --> 00:01:12,432 "Communicate." 24 00:01:12,432 --> 00:01:15,318 But sometimes talking about it seems to make it worse. 25 00:01:15,773 --> 00:01:17,594 "Don't go to bed angry." 26 00:01:17,594 --> 00:01:21,108 So you stay awake, and now you're angry and tired. 27 00:01:21,108 --> 00:01:22,614 (laughter) 28 00:01:23,065 --> 00:01:25,708 Or, "You just have to learn to compromise." 29 00:01:25,950 --> 00:01:28,032 But if your compromise has ever felt like, 30 00:01:28,032 --> 00:01:30,602 "You don't get what you want, I don't get what I want, 31 00:01:30,602 --> 00:01:34,341 but at least together we're mutually miserable." 32 00:01:34,451 --> 00:01:36,061 (laughter) 33 00:01:36,521 --> 00:01:39,593 Now I'm sure all of this advice is well-intentioned, 34 00:01:39,833 --> 00:01:42,999 but it treats conflict as if it's a problem. 35 00:01:43,467 --> 00:01:45,781 What if conflict isn't a problem? 36 00:01:46,601 --> 00:01:48,949 What if it's a solution? 37 00:01:49,189 --> 00:01:53,780 What if it's not negative, but full of beauty? 38 00:01:55,031 --> 00:02:00,538 After 15 years of studying, researching, teaching, and training in conflict, 39 00:02:00,538 --> 00:02:02,661 I've learned to see it differently. 40 00:02:03,375 --> 00:02:07,970 I've been able to see the power it has to transform - 41 00:02:07,970 --> 00:02:12,318 to transform us, our relationships, and the world around us. 42 00:02:14,421 --> 00:02:18,061 It can be difficult, though, to create that change. 43 00:02:18,239 --> 00:02:21,420 And it means we have to start looking at conflict differently. 44 00:02:21,420 --> 00:02:24,819 No matter how negatively you think about conflict right now, 45 00:02:24,819 --> 00:02:27,099 it is possible to change that. 46 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,092 It takes three keys in order to do that. 47 00:02:31,092 --> 00:02:35,990 The first is to recognize what our conflict is really about. 48 00:02:35,990 --> 00:02:39,909 I have a four decade long history of fighting about the dishes. 49 00:02:40,754 --> 00:02:45,021 When I was a kid I hated doing dishes, and I fought with my parents and my siblings 50 00:02:45,021 --> 00:02:48,201 on nearly a weekly basis about who's turn it was. 51 00:02:48,201 --> 00:02:51,300 When I got to college I fought with my roommates about the dishes 52 00:02:51,300 --> 00:02:53,562 because sometimes they'd go home for the weekend 53 00:02:53,562 --> 00:02:57,032 and they'd leave behind their dirty dishes with their half eaten burritos, 54 00:02:57,032 --> 00:02:59,221 with congealed ketchup, and bowls of 55 00:02:59,221 --> 00:03:02,941 funky, fermenting, green Lucky Charm milk in the sink. 56 00:03:03,333 --> 00:03:04,427 (laughter) 57 00:03:04,571 --> 00:03:08,488 When I got married I fought with my wife about how you're supposed to do the dishes 58 00:03:08,518 --> 00:03:12,325 and if it even counts as doing dishes if you don't rinse the sink out afterwards. 59 00:03:12,325 --> 00:03:13,318 (laughter) 60 00:03:13,475 --> 00:03:16,226 With my own kids I've fought about the dishes, 61 00:03:16,226 --> 00:03:19,493 about them not dirtying 15 cups a day because they get a new one 62 00:03:19,493 --> 00:03:21,685 every single time they get a drink of water, 63 00:03:21,685 --> 00:03:24,602 and trying to get them to help load and unload the dishes. 64 00:03:24,602 --> 00:03:27,148 I mean, maybe I ought to just switch to paper plates. 65 00:03:27,246 --> 00:03:28,449 (laughter) 66 00:03:28,473 --> 00:03:31,919 But maybe, it's not about the dishes. 67 00:03:32,603 --> 00:03:35,756 As I think back, as a kid it wasn't about the dishes, 68 00:03:35,756 --> 00:03:40,226 it was about independence and wanting to make my own decisions. 69 00:03:40,470 --> 00:03:43,827 With my roommates, it wasn't about the dishes. 70 00:03:43,827 --> 00:03:46,737 It was about wanting to feel respected and wondering 71 00:03:46,737 --> 00:03:49,974 if they valued the relationship the same way that I did. 72 00:03:50,199 --> 00:03:53,132 With my wife, it's not about how I do the dishes. 73 00:03:53,132 --> 00:03:57,378 It's wanting to feel competent and likable no matter how I do them. 74 00:03:58,081 --> 00:04:00,378 With my kids, it's not about the dishes. 75 00:04:00,805 --> 00:04:03,571 It's about my identity as a father, 76 00:04:03,571 --> 00:04:07,472 trying to teach them respect and responsibility. 77 00:04:08,505 --> 00:04:10,561 You see, conflicts are a lot like icebergs. 78 00:04:10,561 --> 00:04:13,872 What we see on the surface may seem small, 79 00:04:13,872 --> 00:04:19,001 but what's underneath can send boats like the Titanic to the bottom of the ocean, 80 00:04:19,001 --> 00:04:23,361 and if I don't pay attention to what's underneath my own conflicts 81 00:04:23,361 --> 00:04:25,967 it can rip holes in my relationships. 82 00:04:25,967 --> 00:04:28,996 Conflict is about so much more, 83 00:04:28,996 --> 00:04:33,857 about our identity, our relationships, the things that really matter to us. 84 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:37,186 And as you're thinking about you're own conflicts, 85 00:04:37,186 --> 00:04:41,862 maybe you can start to see that they might be about something more. 86 00:04:43,140 --> 00:04:46,271 Now, once you recognize what your conflicts are really about, 87 00:04:46,271 --> 00:04:50,559 the second key is recognizing when you're stuck. 88 00:04:50,559 --> 00:04:53,950 Now, I am no stranger to being stuck in conflict. 89 00:04:53,950 --> 00:04:56,951 I started learning about conflict because I was terrible at it. 90 00:04:56,951 --> 00:04:58,568 Well, a couple years ago, 91 00:04:58,568 --> 00:05:02,489 I asked my four-year-old daughter to put away a couple of "hair pretties" 92 00:05:02,489 --> 00:05:03,716 that she had gotten out. 93 00:05:04,164 --> 00:05:07,029 You know, a hair pretty is like little bows and rubber bands, 94 00:05:07,029 --> 00:05:09,185 stuff you put in your hair to make it pretty. 95 00:05:09,405 --> 00:05:10,925 (laughter) 96 00:05:11,215 --> 00:05:14,485 So she took them, but she chucked them on the floor of the bathroom, 97 00:05:14,485 --> 00:05:17,425 and I said, "You can't just put them there on the floor, 98 00:05:17,425 --> 00:05:19,753 you need to pick them up and put them in the tray 99 00:05:19,753 --> 00:05:21,468 with the rest of the hair pretties." 100 00:05:21,468 --> 00:05:23,778 She said, " I don't want to put them in the tray. 101 00:05:23,778 --> 00:05:25,666 And I said, "You got them out. You have to put them away." 102 00:05:25,666 --> 00:05:28,331 She said, "I don't want to!" and started throwing a fit. 103 00:05:28,331 --> 00:05:31,404 So she's laying on the floor, so I get down on the floor next to her 104 00:05:31,404 --> 00:05:34,067 and I put the little hair pretties right next to her hand, 105 00:05:34,067 --> 00:05:36,459 and I bring the tray over, and I'm just like, 106 00:05:36,459 --> 00:05:37,864 "Just put them in the tray." 107 00:05:37,954 --> 00:05:38,901 (laughter) 108 00:05:38,989 --> 00:05:41,561 And she said, "I don't want to!" and flips the tray. 109 00:05:41,561 --> 00:05:44,043 20 more hair pretties go flying over the floor. 110 00:05:44,043 --> 00:05:44,897 So I'm like, 111 00:05:44,897 --> 00:05:46,266 "Line in the sand. 112 00:05:46,266 --> 00:05:49,527 You're not coming out of this bathroom until you pick up all the hair pretties!" 113 00:05:49,527 --> 00:05:53,798 So she tries to rush past me and I block the door with my gigantic body. 114 00:05:53,798 --> 00:05:56,562 And she's flailing at me with her tiny little fists. 115 00:05:56,562 --> 00:05:58,746 Then 20 minutes later I'm at the door 116 00:05:58,746 --> 00:06:01,613 trying to explain to my neighbor who has brought a plate of cookies 117 00:06:01,613 --> 00:06:03,332 to welcome us to the neighborhood 118 00:06:03,332 --> 00:06:05,367 why my daughter is screaming, trying to climb over a mattress 119 00:06:05,367 --> 00:06:08,367 that I've used to block the bathroom door. 120 00:06:08,367 --> 00:06:09,725 (laughter) 121 00:06:11,045 --> 00:06:14,446 Now, that may be entertaining for you, 122 00:06:14,826 --> 00:06:17,726 but at the time, for me, not so much. 123 00:06:18,206 --> 00:06:19,837 I was stuck. 124 00:06:20,059 --> 00:06:23,056 That was not working very well for me. 125 00:06:24,085 --> 00:06:26,626 Have you ever been in your own conflicts and thought, 126 00:06:26,626 --> 00:06:29,904 "This is not working so well for me." 127 00:06:29,904 --> 00:06:33,771 See the thing that gets me stuck there is justification. 128 00:06:33,771 --> 00:06:37,806 Justification is believing that I'm blameless. 129 00:06:37,806 --> 00:06:41,502 And it's so seductive, because in conflict 130 00:06:41,502 --> 00:06:45,366 if I'm blameless, then I don't have to do any of the work to change. 131 00:06:45,366 --> 00:06:49,087 I'm not the one that needs to change. Somebody else needs to change. 132 00:06:49,660 --> 00:06:51,874 And it keeps us stuck. 133 00:06:52,808 --> 00:06:58,494 As you think about your own conflicts, do you ever feel justified but stuck? 134 00:06:59,736 --> 00:07:05,981 Again, that might feel nice in the moment, but in the end it's pretty dissatisfying. 135 00:07:06,215 --> 00:07:10,626 It keeps us doing the same conflicts over and over again 136 00:07:10,626 --> 00:07:12,832 and nothing changes. 137 00:07:13,876 --> 00:07:15,782 You can get unstuck. 138 00:07:16,948 --> 00:07:20,505 If it's not working for you, you can find a different way. 139 00:07:20,505 --> 00:07:27,308 The third key in unlocking the beautiful, transformative power of conflict 140 00:07:27,308 --> 00:07:31,396 is to start learning to speak responsibly. 141 00:07:31,965 --> 00:07:36,167 To have those kinds of conversations where we can create change in ourselves, 142 00:07:36,167 --> 00:07:38,937 in our relationships, in the world around us, 143 00:07:38,937 --> 00:07:43,798 it requires vulnerability, ownership, communication, acceptance, boundaries. 144 00:07:44,408 --> 00:07:48,452 It's hard work, though. It can be as hard as trying to learn a new language. 145 00:07:48,513 --> 00:07:51,032 I've created the acronym VOCAB 146 00:07:51,032 --> 00:07:53,772 to help you in those moments, to think about 147 00:07:53,772 --> 00:07:56,159 how you can be responsible in your conflict, 148 00:07:56,159 --> 00:07:58,742 how you can create the change that you want. 149 00:07:58,742 --> 00:08:00,604 And it starts with vulnerability. 150 00:08:00,604 --> 00:08:04,994 Vulnerability is my willingness to let myself be seen. 151 00:08:04,994 --> 00:08:09,864 To share who I really am, how I really feel, even my mistakes. 152 00:08:10,133 --> 00:08:14,303 To share the needs that I have that are below the surface. 153 00:08:14,303 --> 00:08:17,457 Now when I'm vulnerable, I take off my armor 154 00:08:17,457 --> 00:08:19,711 of justification and defensiveness. 155 00:08:19,711 --> 00:08:23,123 I put down my weapons of blame and accusation. 156 00:08:23,123 --> 00:08:24,663 And that can be terrifying. 157 00:08:25,782 --> 00:08:29,253 But it's beautiful because it disarms our conflicts 158 00:08:29,748 --> 00:08:34,465 and it creates the potential for us to connect instead of to fight. 159 00:08:35,734 --> 00:08:39,177 The O in VOCAB is for ownership. 160 00:08:39,177 --> 00:08:45,437 Ownership is taking accountability for my own needs, emotions, and choices. 161 00:08:46,364 --> 00:08:50,419 Have you ever wondered in a conflict, "How did I get here?" 162 00:08:50,419 --> 00:08:54,413 Maybe you're in the proverbial doghouse and you're sleeping on the couch. 163 00:08:54,413 --> 00:08:57,262 Or maybe your conflicts have escalated into the ridiculous 164 00:08:57,262 --> 00:09:00,775 and you have a mattress blocking the door of your bathroom. 165 00:09:02,067 --> 00:09:07,186 The beauty of ownership is that when I look at my choices and my emotions 166 00:09:07,186 --> 00:09:08,277 in my conflicts, 167 00:09:08,277 --> 00:09:11,748 it starts to help me map the contributions that I make. 168 00:09:11,748 --> 00:09:14,198 I can see how I got here. 169 00:09:14,198 --> 00:09:17,058 I can see exactly which direction I'm headed, 170 00:09:17,058 --> 00:09:20,819 and if that's not working for me it empowers me. 171 00:09:20,865 --> 00:09:22,937 I can shift direction. 172 00:09:24,126 --> 00:09:29,877 The third thing you need, and at the center of VOCAB is our communication. 173 00:09:30,168 --> 00:09:34,946 We have to learn to ask, listen, and express. 174 00:09:34,946 --> 00:09:38,669 It's not enough that we communicate, it matters how we do it. 175 00:09:38,669 --> 00:09:43,227 So I had to learn to stop telling stories that ended with a period. 176 00:09:43,227 --> 00:09:46,457 I had to start asking questions - the kind of questions that help me 177 00:09:46,457 --> 00:09:51,204 understand what's underneath the surface of this conflict, 178 00:09:51,204 --> 00:09:54,159 to help me understand the emotions and needs. 179 00:09:54,735 --> 00:09:56,728 After I ask I can listen. 180 00:09:56,728 --> 00:09:59,708 Not listening for the other person to make a mistake, 181 00:09:59,708 --> 00:10:01,726 or for me to get defensive, 182 00:10:01,726 --> 00:10:06,444 but to listen to what's really important, to hear their requests for change. 183 00:10:06,631 --> 00:10:10,319 And after listening, I can then express. 184 00:10:10,319 --> 00:10:13,968 Not just anger, but express with vulnerability and onwership 185 00:10:13,968 --> 00:10:17,588 how I really feel, what I want, what's important to me. 186 00:10:17,588 --> 00:10:23,157 These conversations where I start to ask, listen, and express; 187 00:10:23,917 --> 00:10:27,059 They're so beautiful because they can create empathy 188 00:10:27,059 --> 00:10:29,497 and a different type of conversation. 189 00:10:30,339 --> 00:10:32,950 The A in VOCAB is about acceptance, 190 00:10:32,950 --> 00:10:37,938 and acceptance is embracing reality and letting go of what we can't control. 191 00:10:38,442 --> 00:10:41,171 There's very little that I can control in conflict. 192 00:10:41,171 --> 00:10:45,070 I can't even get my four-year-old daughter to pick up three hair pretties. 193 00:10:45,070 --> 00:10:49,332 I often want to control how the other person feels and how they behave 194 00:10:49,332 --> 00:10:50,784 but I have to let that go. 195 00:10:51,737 --> 00:10:55,102 I also have to recognize that because conflict is about change, 196 00:10:55,102 --> 00:10:57,175 there's going to be some loss involved. 197 00:10:57,431 --> 00:10:59,793 Sometimes it's just the loss of an idea. 198 00:10:59,793 --> 00:11:02,880 Once upon a time I thought that relationships were supposed to be 199 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:04,003 happily ever after. 200 00:11:04,003 --> 00:11:06,974 But the truth is, all relationships have conflict, 201 00:11:06,974 --> 00:11:12,273 and until I let go of that fairy tale and embrace the reality of my relationships 202 00:11:12,273 --> 00:11:14,974 could I do anything when those difficulties came. 203 00:11:15,992 --> 00:11:18,802 Finally, the B in VOCAB is for boundaries. 204 00:11:18,802 --> 00:11:22,773 Boundaries are ground rules for acceptable behavior. 205 00:11:22,773 --> 00:11:27,233 Boundaries let other people know what I'm okay with and what I'm not okay with. 206 00:11:27,233 --> 00:11:32,273 This is important because even though it's difficult to say no 207 00:11:32,273 --> 00:11:36,610 and disappoint somebody, "no" is the foundation of trust. 208 00:11:37,383 --> 00:11:41,165 As a mediator, my role is to help people who are stuck in conflict 209 00:11:41,165 --> 00:11:43,193 to have a different kind of conversation. 210 00:11:43,233 --> 00:11:47,963 The way we often begin that is by setting rules for how we're going to interact. 211 00:11:48,170 --> 00:11:51,263 It usually involves things like the parties determining, 212 00:11:51,263 --> 00:11:54,733 "We're not going to call each other names. We won't raise our voices. 213 00:11:54,733 --> 00:11:57,900 We're going to keep this conversation confidential." 214 00:11:58,354 --> 00:12:02,544 The beauty of that is setting those boundaries and respecting them 215 00:12:02,544 --> 00:12:05,706 creates the foundation for trust. 216 00:12:05,706 --> 00:12:09,130 Now, understanding VOCAB, seeing how that works 217 00:12:09,130 --> 00:12:11,894 isn't going to cure your conflicts. 218 00:12:12,769 --> 00:12:17,233 It's still difficult to do, and I still get stuck in justification. 219 00:12:17,233 --> 00:12:21,684 But when I practice it, just like practicing a new language, 220 00:12:21,684 --> 00:12:23,334 I become more fluent. 221 00:12:24,410 --> 00:12:27,993 And it's important because that is what creates the changes that I want 222 00:12:27,993 --> 00:12:32,604 in myself, in my relationships, and in the world around me. 223 00:12:32,604 --> 00:12:36,254 When my oldest daughter turned six and started the first grade, 224 00:12:36,254 --> 00:12:41,771 there started to be a lot of interactions with her sisters that ended with tears 225 00:12:41,771 --> 00:12:42,964 and yelling. 226 00:12:43,390 --> 00:12:46,834 She started to be kind of harsh. 227 00:12:46,834 --> 00:12:48,833 I mean, she'd always liked to be in charge, 228 00:12:48,833 --> 00:12:51,684 but she was kind of bossing her sisters around a lot. 229 00:12:51,684 --> 00:12:53,484 So I tried to put a stop to it. 230 00:12:53,484 --> 00:12:58,215 I lectured her on kindness, and nothing changed. 231 00:12:58,215 --> 00:12:59,765 I yelled at her. 232 00:12:59,765 --> 00:13:01,426 Nothing changed. 233 00:13:01,426 --> 00:13:07,004 I gave consequences and punishments, and it continued for weeks, 234 00:13:07,004 --> 00:13:08,594 on nearly a daily basis. 235 00:13:08,614 --> 00:13:10,337 And I felt stuck. 236 00:13:10,337 --> 00:13:12,943 I didn't know what to do and it was frustrating. 237 00:13:12,943 --> 00:13:17,696 Until one evening, I started practicing VOCAB 238 00:13:17,696 --> 00:13:20,594 and creating a conversation for change. 239 00:13:20,594 --> 00:13:24,391 As I was tucking her into bed, I kneeled down next to her. 240 00:13:24,391 --> 00:13:27,166 I called her name softly and I said, 241 00:13:27,166 --> 00:13:30,955 "I don't know how to be the dad of a six-year-old. 242 00:13:30,955 --> 00:13:32,825 I've never done this before. 243 00:13:32,825 --> 00:13:34,860 But I've been worried and sad. 244 00:13:34,860 --> 00:13:39,710 I don't know what's been going on between us and between your sisters. 245 00:13:39,719 --> 00:13:42,381 I hate that I've yelled at you. 246 00:13:42,381 --> 00:13:45,120 I have to own that. I don't want that. 247 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:50,037 What I want is for us to be able to talk with each other even when it's hard. 248 00:13:50,179 --> 00:13:52,367 I want us to have a good relationship, 249 00:13:52,367 --> 00:13:56,252 and I want to understand what's happening for you. Can you help me understand?" 250 00:13:57,432 --> 00:14:01,311 She said, "I don't know," and crawled under the covers. 251 00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:05,932 So I worked on keeping my heart open. I laid next to her. 252 00:14:05,932 --> 00:14:11,222 I tried to breathe in and let go of my desire to have her respond. 253 00:14:11,241 --> 00:14:15,562 And then I had the air ripped out of me when I heard her say, 254 00:14:15,562 --> 00:14:19,214 "Dad, have you ever been bullied?" 255 00:14:20,784 --> 00:14:24,473 For weeks she'd been dealing with a bully at school 256 00:14:24,473 --> 00:14:28,803 and hadn't known what to do about it, how to talk about it. 257 00:14:28,803 --> 00:14:30,496 I asked her how she was feeling. 258 00:14:30,496 --> 00:14:34,193 I told her about how I was bullied when I was a kid. 259 00:14:34,193 --> 00:14:37,802 We discussed how she could set boundaries with kids at school. 260 00:14:38,008 --> 00:14:41,337 We talked about, "How do we want to communicate in the future? 261 00:14:41,337 --> 00:14:44,839 How do we deal with these hard emotions when they come?" 262 00:14:45,220 --> 00:14:47,695 That conversation changed me, 263 00:14:47,695 --> 00:14:49,761 and it changed our relationship. 264 00:14:50,415 --> 00:14:56,152 It empowered us to continue creating the changes we wanted in the world around us. 265 00:14:56,518 --> 00:14:59,615 I no longer see conflict as negative. 266 00:14:59,615 --> 00:15:02,041 It's my chrysalis of change. 267 00:15:02,041 --> 00:15:04,115 It's a doorway of opportunity. 268 00:15:05,173 --> 00:15:09,169 It's the first ray of light after a dark night. 269 00:15:09,169 --> 00:15:11,464 What do you want it to be for you? 270 00:15:12,764 --> 00:15:15,362 (applause) 271 00:15:15,362 --> 00:15:18,460 (music)