How to explain a conflict

In both work and personal life, it is common to have to deal with conflicts and problems that arise in our daily lives. These conflicts can sometimes be useful to address them in a story that we will use as a complement in our speech. Appropriately addressing a conflict requires knowing how to master certain techniques in order to make the audience identify with the facts and perceive the message in a better way. The complexity of recounting a conflict can increase even more when it has manifested itself in an environment that involves people outside our own.

During the development of this session, we will be analyzing some of the essential points that you should take into account when reflecting conflicts in your story. To do this, we will look at some elements of great impact, such as the presentation of the characters and the contextualization of the conflict.

Presentation of the characters: Introducing the characters involved in the conflict you narrate in your story will provide a high degree of description, allowing the audience to generate greater empathy towards them. It is not the same to say that two co-workers argued because one of them was not doing his job well, as it is to say that Juan, who is Maria's supervisor, argued with her because she was not performing her job duties. By adding the names of the characters, it is easier to remember the story. When we add that Juan is the supervisor, we already understand why he is upset with Maria.

If you add other elements such as that John is a very disciplined man and that Mary shows no interest in her work, you are providing distinctive personality traits of the perpetrators of the conflict. These traits do not change the facts, but they allow empathizing. Empathy is fundamental when it comes to capturing the listeners' attention. The more we get to know the characters, the more we want to know about them. It is not necessary to use real names if you want to preserve the identity of the people involved in the conflict, but it is essential that you always use some name, even if it is fictitious.

Following this same logic, if necessary, you can comment on the age of the characters or other facts that have arisen previously and that relate to them. For example: what are their tastes or what is your relationship with them.

Contextualizing the conflict: Contextualizing the conflict is essential to understand the background of the conflict. If you do not contextualize, the conflict tends to be generic, there is no way to identify with it and therefore it will be more difficult to retain the audience's attention. Within the context, we must provide data such as date and place. Knowing when the conflict was generated moves the listener into the historical context of the conflict, allowing them to access a range of relevant information to identify with the characters and the message you are trying to convey.

A conflict out of context can communicate the wrong idea, causing the listener's judgment to err by not having the basic elements that explain the reason for the events. When we contextualize, we want our audience to have all the resources to place themselves in the same position we are in. By aligning the listener's perspective with our own, it will be much easier for them to perceive the facts with greater clarity and adherence to the reality in which they occurred.

A simple technique when describing the conflict is to always begin with the basic context of the conflict. Subsequently or simultaneously, you will introduce the characters, ending with the narrative of the events.