When to use this combo
Two people or teams are stuck in a disagreement and emotions are running high. You need to lower the temperature, get everyone back to facts, and find a way forward that both sides can accept — even if they don't fully agree.
Is this combo right for you?
Use this combo if you're a logical, process-oriented mediator. You believe most conflicts come from hidden assumptions or incomplete information, not from bad intentions. You'd rather de-escalate with data than emotion. If you're the person who says "let's step back and look at the facts" during heated debates, this combo matches your style.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Have each side walk down the Ladder of Inference — trace back from their conclusions to the actual data. Often, both sides are working from different data or different interpretations of the same data.
Use a Decision Matrix to evaluate each proposed option against shared, weighted criteria. This replaces subjective argument with objective scoring.
Apply Second-order Thinking to each option — what happens next? And then what? Sometimes an option that looks worse short-term wins long-term, resolving the conflict.