The Top 5 Mistakes People Make During Confrontations and How to Avoid Them

Unfortunately, Warren and I are having issues with our neighbors in our dream home on the river. We moved here four years ago and were quickly aware they were challenging and loved to complain about everyone. I was determined to win her over, and we wouldn’t have any issues.

I’m not winning the battle, and things appear to worsen each week. We are frustrated and want to lash out, which we both know is not right. We think our neighbor wants us to lash out so she has legitimate complaints because we’ve given her nothing to complain about so far. She is confrontational, and we want to make sure we don’t make any mistakes the next time she comes stomping over.

We know that confrontations are a natural part of life, both personally and professionally. They happen when misunderstandings, disagreements, or unmet expectations need to be addressed. We know how we handle our confrontations significantly impacts our relationships and outcomes. In the same way, we don’t want to make any mistakes with our neighbor unintentionally; you don’t want to do the same at work either. By being aware of the common mistakes, we can ensure we don’t fall into their traps!

Here are the top 5 mistakes people make during confrontations and how to avoid them.

1. Reacting Emotionally

One of the most frequent mistakes in confrontations is reacting emotionally. When anger, frustration, or hurt take over, they can cloud judgment and lead to impulsive responses, which causes us to say or do things we regret. Raised voices, aggressive body language, or hurtful words are common examples. When people react based on feelings rather than logic, the confrontation can quickly turn personal and destructive.

How to avoid it: Practice emotional regulation by taking a moment to breathe and calm down before responding. Focus on staying composed and grounded.

That means we both will count to five or ten before responding to whatever our neighbor is saying. We want to ensure that our response is the proper response and not an emotional reaction. We’ve decided that if we can’t respond in the moment, we will say, “I need a moment to calm myself down. I’ll finish this conversation later.” You can decide what later is. For us, it means we will end the conversation, not say anything we might regret, and choose to stay in control by postponing the discussion. We feel our neighbor is trying to bait us into giving her an emotional reaction, and we are choosing not to let her be successful.

If you feel emotions are overwhelming, it’s okay to request a short break and revisit the issue later.

2. Not Listening

In the heat of a confrontation, people often focus on what they want to say instead of genuinely listening to the other person. When you fail to listen, you risk misunderstanding the issue, which can lead to further conflict. Dr Steven Covey said in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek first to understand and then be understood.” It means that we need to listen to what the other person is saying before we try to get them to listen to what we are saying. Knowing where they stand on the issue makes it much easier for us to be persuasive.

How to avoid it: Make a conscious effort to listen actively. Nod, make eye contact, and don’t interrupt. Paraphrase what the other person is saying to ensure you understand their point before responding. Don’t worry about forgetting what you will say; instead, focus on what they are saying.

3. Avoiding the Issue

Sometimes, people are so uncomfortable with confrontation that they avoid addressing the core issue altogether. Instead, they tiptoe around the problem, hoping it will resolve itself or go away. This rarely leads to resolution and can make the conflict worse over time.

In fairness, this is exactly what we have been doing with our neighbors. We’ve been uber polite and friendly (even though we know we are misrepresenting how we feel), hoping she won’t be confrontational.

How to avoid it: Be direct and transparent about what’s bothering you. Address the issue head-on but do so respectfully and resolve, not escalate the problem.

The next time our neighbor comes over to passive-aggressively complain about something we are doing, we’ve decided not to pretend we don’t know what she is complaining about. We will ask her questions and listen to what she says. Together, we’ve decided that pretending all is well in our neighborhood is no longer the approach we will take. We will be direct and honest about our frustrations.

4. Blaming and Finger-Pointing

It’s easy to fall into the trap of blaming the other person during a confrontation. It’s easy for Warren and I to decide to be direct and place all the blame on our neighbors as they confront us. Blame shifts responsibility and will cause them to be defensive (we certainly have become defensive when they accuse us of doing things). When someone feels blamed, their natural response is often to defend themselves, which can lead to further disagreement and tension.

How to avoid it: Focus on using “I” statements rather than “you” statements. For example, say “I feel upset when…” rather than “You always…”. This approach makes it about you instead of them. Anytime a sentence starts with the word “you,” it is guaranteed to cause a defensive reaction, which we need to avoid.

5. Assuming Intentions

Jumping to conclusions about the other person’s motives and intentions can lead to misunderstandings. For example, assuming someone deliberately acted to hurt or embarrass you is rarely true. Everyone does what they do because they get something from it. When someone spreads gossip about you at work (or in the neighborhood), it really isn’t about you. It is about the person spreading the gossip as being seen as the well-connected colleague, or the source of information. They are trying to make themselves look important rather than putting you down (or showing others they are better than you).

We have assumed that our neighbors are trying to get us to move. What is likely true (I won’t assume) is that they want others to feel sorry for them because they have to live beside us. They want sympathy rather than intending us to move.

How to avoid it: Ask questions before making assumptions. Instead of saying, “You did this to hurt me,” ask, “Can you explain why you did this?” This approach opens up dialogue and may reveal a different perspective.

Conflict is 100 percent guaranteed at work (and home), but how we handle it can determine whether it results in resolution or further conflict. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can deal with the issues professionally, respectfully, and, hopefully, successfully.

We have our plan ready for our neighbors. We have discussed what we will say and how we will say it when the next conversation happens. We are determined not to make any of these mistakes. I hope you do the same.

This article was written by Rhonda Scharf and not by artificial intelligence.