Deborah Pegues was once vice president of MCA Universal Studios. She headed up the venture capital division that was responsible for starting new companies. It was a high-risk, high stress business. Her role frequently required her to confront people.
You might even say she got good at it.
Which is precisely the reason we’ve invited her to our studios to talk about how to confront someone effectively. We’re airing the conversation on our Focus on the Family Broadcast titled “Facing Confrontation with Grace.”
Deborah says most people try to avoid confrontation because it’s hard, and it doesn’t feel good. Christians even appeal to the Bible to justify their passivity. But Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” not “blessed are the peacekeepers.”
Confrontation doesn’t have to be a scary thing. Deborah says that confrontation is the act of coming together with someone face to faceto resolve a problem and to achieve unity.
One of Deborah’s strategies is called the sandwich method. That means she addresses an issue by first softening the blow (the bread) before delving into the problem (the meat). She then finishes with dialogue that softens the interaction (more bread). She outlines this fully in our conversation.
She also describes four styles of confrontation:
- The Dictator
- The Abdicator
- The Collaborator
- The Accommodator
And, finally, she explains confrontation strategies, such as:
- Knowing the purpose of the confrontation
- Owning the problem
- Speaking the right words
- Listening
- Negotiating
- Forgiveness
Join us for “Facing Confrontation with Grace” on your local radio station, online, on iTunes, via Podcast, or on our free phone app. With Deborah’s flair and humor, you’ll learn solid confrontation strategies and gain confidence when it comes to facing others.
Our broadcast is chockful of information. So is Deborah Pegues’ book, Confronting without Offending: Positive and Practical Steps to Resolving Conflict. It’s full of straightforward and real-world advice to help you embrace necessary confrontation in a positive manner that will bring about good things. We’d like to send it to you today when you donate to Focus on the Family for a gift of any amount. Check our website for details.
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