Facilitation Guide for Effective Conflict

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What do we gain by constructing the Cloud?
In these four examples, we did not solve conflicts but only 
analyzed them. Did we manage to gain something even 
though we still don’t have the solution?
Yes!
When we make the Cloud, we manage to present the es-
sence of the conflict in two simple, clear, logical sentences. 
That is very important because in these two sentences we 
have all the significant elements of the conflict. We have 
been able to verbalize the conflict itself, to be clear what 
the different sides want. And, perhaps most critical, we 
have been able to identify the needs behind each want. 
Being able to understand both one’s own needs and the needs of the other side is very im-
portant in trying to solve the conflict, particularly being able to understand the need of the 
other side. Usually, we do not think about why the person with whom we are in conflict wants 
whatever it is that they want. We look at the person as a nuisance, someone “difficult”, a hor-
rible person etc. When we think about the needs of this person, we begin to realize that the 
needs this person has are something we can understand. Then, we develop empathy which is 
a key element in conflict resolution. Just by analyzing the conflict through The Cloud, we have 
created a bridge for dialogue with the other side and paved a road that could lead to finding 
solutions to the conflict. 
Analyzing the conflict through the Cloud helps us:
- Understand ourselves better
- Develop empathy: understand the other side
- Examine the level of emotions involved in the conflict
- Suppress emotions that might escalate the situation
- Analyze the problem in a fair way
- Focus on the core issue in the fog of the conflict
- Create a bridge for a dialog with the other side
- Find the guidance needed to come up with Win-Win 
solutions