Conflict and Communication

This section covers phrases people use when they speak plainly, make a tense situation worse, or try to name what is happening without softening it.

Start Here

• Call a Spade a Spade
• Add Fuel to the Fire

Section Focus

Expect language about candor, argument, tension, provocation, and the difference between calming a conflict and escalating one.

In this section

• Add Fuel to the Fire
  To make an already tense, angry, or unstable situation even worse.
• Call a Spade a Spade
  To speak plainly and directly without hiding behind softer wording.