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Conflict Owner's Manual

we show how your conflict competencies help you do conflict better.

Our logo is a dandelion because conflict is like a weed you don't want in the garden. Since it's there you want to know how to manage it, keep it from spreading, and feel good about how you dealt with it.

Dr. Deborah Sword is a specialist in conflict analysis and management. Tyson Bankert is a community facilitator and artist. We have decades of experience and training in helping people expand their conflict competencies.

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Conflict Owner's Manual

100 What elite athletes can teach about conflict competence

September 24, 2025 • Dr. Deborah Sword, with co-host Tyson Bankert • Season 4 • Episode 100

Elite athletes heal faster and manage pain better than most people. We can apply their techniques to improve our conflict competence and manage conflicts better than most people. So, what are those techniques, and how can we apply them to conflicts?

Show notes:
Research paper:
Carole A. Paley, and Mark I. Johnson. 25 June 2025. Human Resilience and Pain Coping Strategies: A Review of the Literature Giving Insights from Elite Ultra‐Endurance Athletes for Sports Science, Medicine and Society. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02277-4

Conflict Owner's Manual episodes about these coping strategies include:

Episode 64: How is self awareness a conflict competency?
Episode 78: How do you use and practice conflict analysis?
Episode 81: 81 How conflict competence impacts loneliness for the better.
Episode 85: How to stay non-defensive when verbally attacked, respond rather than react.

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Dr. Deborah Sword is a conflict specialist with decades of experience and training to share.

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