Turn accusations into clarity. By describing what’s happening instead of who’s at fault, you reduce conflict and increase cooperation.
Top examples:
“This didn’t go well” instead of “You ruined it”
“I’m struggling with this dynamic” instead of “You’re toxic”
❌ “You always mess things up.”
✅ “This part didn’t go as planned — let’s see how we can fix it.”
❌ “You’re impossible to work with.”
✅ “I’m feeling overwhelmed in how we’re handling this — can we talk about it?”
❌ “It’s your fault this is ruined.”
✅ “Something went wrong here — I want us to understand what happened.”
❌ “You never do anything right.”
✅ “I noticed a few mistakes that we might want to go over together.”
❌ “You’re so selfish.”
✅ “I felt left out when you made that decision alone.”