C. S. Lewis Quotes

The way you argued with me, you would have thought that we were debating the existence of God or whether or not we should move in together. These kinds of fights can never be won – even if you’re the victor, you’ve hurt the other person, and there has to be some loss associated with that.

You've got to be able to know someone really well to be able to have a row and then also walk away from it and not have it matter, especially in this business. That doesn't mean to say we have many rows but I think the nearest thing to a row would be just flatly disagreeing with something .

In business, there are times when you disagree, and sometimes it turns out that you're just plain wrong. Humor takes away tension and helps you realize you're wrong.

Why are we talking about talking? Why negotiating about negotiating? It's very simple. If you want to get to peace, put all your preconditions on the side, sit down opposite a table, not in a studio, by the way.

Well, you can't argue with somebody that won't argue back.

I do believe that in order to be a successful negotiator that as a diplomat, you have to be able to put yourself into the other person's shoes. Unless you can understand what is motivating them, you are never going to be able to figure out how to solve a particular problem.

I don't fight with people - like, I can barely fight with my husband because I'll just start crying instead.

It's better for me to go up against someone's passion with my passion and then clarifying something that he wrote. Then I know how to work around certain things.

Trust-based mediation assumes accumulated and at times intimate knowledge shared by both the mediator and disputants.

No matter what, everyone will go through a disagreement - that's what makes us all different.

When I'm arguing, I'm competing. I'm trying to win a game. And if that's what's called for, it's just a reaction.

If I had a row with my husband, it's not going to work my saying, 'Right, if you don't do what I want, I'm going to walk out.' It doesn't work on any level. What you do is you go in and you say, 'I have a problem. You have a problem. Let's try and sort this out together.' You don't come to an agreement with people who you're falling out with badly.

I do believe that any conflict has a better chance of being resolved if two people can come face to face.

Negotiation is empathy. It's almost trite to say that if you can't put yourself in the seat of the other person you're speaking with, you're not going to do well. It's not about being a bully, not about making offers people can't refuse.

When you expect to get into a negotiation, you expect to be faced by a guy that's going to attack you, a guy or gal that's going to attack or that they're going to try to get the best of you. Two-thirds of us, that makes us very defensive.

I feel like anything can be worked out; you just gotta talk through it as adults.

That's pretty much what every scene is about, getting people to see your point of view. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

But every little difference may become a big one if it is insisted on.

Lack of harmony comes when I feel that I know how to do something better than you. Lack of harmony is the song and dance of superiority. Because everybody feels superior, disharmony at every moment is entering into our lives.

Remember, it takes two to make an argument. The one who is wrong is the one who will be doing most of the talking.

A man of understanding finds less difficulty in submitting to a wrong-headed fellow, than in attempting to set him right.

I've spent my life navigating through sensitive issues. Not wanting to upset people.

That most dangerous of opponents: the one who took pains to comprehend the position of his adversary.

In my own experience, I've found that it's very difficult to make peace with women. We tend to be competitive and feel angry.

I think it's really important to find out why people hurt you or try to oppose you or whatever.