Do You Know How To Manage Conflicts In Social Networks?

Knowing how to manage conflicts in social networks is like learning to manage them in all areas of your life, although it has certain peculiarities. We will not be as exhaustive as Umberto Eco, who considers that they are “an invasion of idiots who give legions of idiots the right to speak”, but it is clear that they can become a problem.

For social media to become a problem, you don’t have to be a community manager or a marketing professional. Any user can get caught up in a mess almost without realizing it. Something that could seriously affect you in your personal, family, social and professional world.

How to manage conflicts in social networks

To learn how to manage conflicts in social networks, we will focus on the teachings of Jonathan Secanella. This coach and trainer is a specialist in personal productivity and emotional intelligence. For Secanella, the basis of effective management of all conflict in social networks lies in assertiveness. The specialist considers it important not to get easily carried away by emotions, a detail that will allow for more reflective and practical judgments.

The author considers it important to get away from the intensity of certain comments, as well as from the radical nature that some circumstances and specific issues raise. When talking about sports or politics in social networks, for example, we have to be very assertive and cautious.

Assertiveness techniques to manage conflicts in social networks

Jonathan Secanella highlights 4 assertiveness strategies to manage these crises in social networks. To do this, he defines the term as the ability to communicate clearly and simply his own needs, but always with respect for both oneself and the interlocutor. In this sense, it highlights the techniques of:

Elemental assertiveness

It consists of a plain statement of an opinion or interest. In the face of offensive or disrespectful comments, it is best not to enter the game. You can simply tell your interlocutor that devaluing comments add nothing and settle the situation politely and correctly.

Empathic assertiveness

This technique consists of a manifestation of recognition towards the positions held by other users. However, you have to defend your rights and interests. Thus, you can show understanding towards other people’s comments, but also remind them of certain rules of respect and courtesy that should never be lost.

Subjective assertiveness

When we use subjective assertiveness, we recognize our interlocutor and his attitude and possible complaint. However, we must also remind you where you may be wrong and how you should improve the way you express yourself.

That is, in the first place we talk with our interlocutor about understanding their feelings. Then we explain the situation and what we think you have made a mistake in your reaction or approach. And finally, we offer you the possibility of reaching an agreement that generates a good atmosphere and empathy.

Positive assertiveness

Positive assertiveness is a long-term social media strategy. If you have contacts that may be controversial or problematic, you can reach out to them in recognition. With a positive attitude, they will feel valued and you will prevent them from going overboard with you and even accept possible future criticism or corrections.

Psychological keys to manage discussions on social networks

We have seen the strategies. As we can see, they depend a lot on the personal attitude of each one and the ability to modulate how it affects us psychologically. For this reason, Dr. Luis Fernando López offers some keys that may be important:

• Avoid getting into arguments if the conflicts are taken to the personal level. Remember that in social networks there are no verbal components, so the intention is distorted.
• Recognizing our own emotional state is important. Before answering, better think a little and recognize if we are upset, anguished or angry.
• It is not necessary to be reciprocal. If we did not like a comment, there is no obligation to answer or enter a circle that does not lead us to anything positive.

• If the contact with whom the conflict occurs is closely known, it is preferable to settle the matter on social networks and talk face to face at another time.
• It is always good to take care of sending messages with emotional content. One limitation of the tools that social networks make available to us is that they do not always allow us to express exactly what we feel, hence it is a good idea to avoid going into overly personal topics.

That said, hopefully you don’t have to manage a lot of conflicts on social media. But if so, whether you are a professional or a user, in this article we have developed really useful keys so that the experience does not become encyst and end up being positive. When you have the chance, we encourage you to put them into practice and get the most out of them!