10 Skills for Handling Disagreements
Clarify a disagreement, understand the other view, test options, and reach a decision people can work with.
Make disagreement useful
Each skill gives your AI assistant instructions for a specific task.
For founders, managers, and HR leads in teams of about 20–200 people. Use one skill for a specific problem, or work through the pack step by step.
Explain the situation and what you want to achieve. The assistant will ask questions and help you prepare. Before using its suggestions, check the facts and make sure they fit the situation. Ask the people involved for any information you are missing.
Two team leads disagree about delaying a launch for more research. Help us compare the risks and agree how to decide.
Choose a skill for your situation.
Open a skill below to see what it helps you do. After installing the skill or pasting its prompt into your assistant, use the suggested starting phrase.
Map the Disagreement
Separate disputed facts, different priorities, and questions about who decides, then choose the most useful next step.
Run disagreement-issue-map.
Download instructionsCheck the Disputed Facts
List disputed claims, compare their sources and definitions, and plan the checks needed to reach a provisional conclusion.
Run disagreement-fact-check.
Download instructionsUnderstand Their View
Prepare open questions and a short summary the other person can correct, so you can check your understanding.
Run disagreement-listen-and-check.
Download instructionsExplain Your Objection Clearly
Draft a spoken or written objection that explains the concern, offers an alternative, and asks for a decision.
Run disagreement-clear-dissent.
Download instructionsAgree How to Resolve the Disagreement
Draft a process covering who contributes, how evidence is considered, who decides, and what happens if agreement is not reached.
Run disagreement-fair-process.
Download instructionsInvite Views That Have Not Been Heard
Plan a discussion that invites independent views and records objections, supporting evidence, and how each concern will be addressed.
Run disagreement-surface-dissent.
Download instructionsCompare Workable Options
Compare options against each side’s stated needs, showing the benefits, costs, and effects on people outside the discussion.
Run disagreement-integrative-options.
Download instructionsPause and Restart a Heated Discussion
Draft a pause, a calmer opening, and clear conditions for continuing the discussion or seeking support.
Run disagreement-reset-exchange.
Download instructionsRecord the Decision and Remaining Concerns
Record the decision, reasons, unresolved objections, responsibilities, and when the choice should be reviewed.
Run disagreement-close-decision.
Download instructionsReview Whether the Resolution Worked
Compare what was agreed with what happened, consider participants’ feedback, and decide whether to keep, adjust, or reopen the decision.
Run disagreement-review-resolution.
Download instructionsOne download. Several ways to use it.
Unzip the download, then follow the instructions for your assistant.
Open one prompt file in portable/, copy its contents into a chat, and describe your situation.
To keep the whole pack in a project, upload portable/ALL-SKILLS.md as a project source, then paste the contents of PROJECT-INSTRUCTIONS.md into the project's instructions. If the assistant does not follow an uploaded prompt, paste that prompt directly into the chat.
In Claude, upload the individual skill ZIPs from install/ using the custom Skills feature. For another assistant that supports Agent Skills, copy the skill folders you need from skills/ into the directory that assistant uses for skills.
See README.md for installation options and a list of the included files.
Free for internal and client work under the Polar Bear license. Not for resale. Available features and results depend on the assistant you use.
Understand the research behind the pack.
The research notes explain which studies informed the skills, what those studies found, and where the findings may not apply. We have not tested whether these AI skills improve workplace outcomes.
Replace real names with placeholders and share only the information the assistant needs. You are responsible for checking facts, making decisions, and speaking with others. If the assistant predicts how someone might react, treat that as one possibility. Ask the person directly when you need to understand their view.
Download the research notes