Check out what the Everything DiSC® Productive Conflict Reference Guide has to say about exaggerating:
“Sometimes a minor offense can still make us extremely upset. In fact, sometimes it’s tough to justify the intensity of our emotions given the actual situation. Exaggeration is a way of making the situation sound as bad as it feels. Exaggeration is also empowering. It makes our case seem that much more powerful and defensible because it makes the other person’s behavior seem that much more awful. Ask yourself: What is the actual reason my emotions are so intense right now?”
We joke about fishermen and how they harmlessly exaggerate the size of the fish they caught and released, but there sure are times that exaggeration produces real conflicts. These don’t always come in the form of extreme elaboration or down right falsehood. It can be as seemingly minor as saying the word ‘always’ instead of ‘often’ or ‘occasionally’. As an example, if a supervisor disciplines an employee for ‘always’ being late to work, that will likely cause that employee to become defensive, and it will not produce the intended results. If instead, the supervisor said the same thing but with the word ‘often’, followed up with specific dates and times, the employee may be able to acknowledge the same and move quicker towards resolving the issue. Another consideration is to realize that the more often and intense we exaggerate, the more likely we will lose credibility. Remember the ‘boy that cried wolf’? Do an 'emotions check' before adding that extra change to the real story.
To view the previous blogs in this series, click the links below:
You can find more information including a video on Everything DiSC® Productive Conflict here: https://www.hrs-mt.com/everything-disc-productive-conflict
