Identify physiological flooding cues and choose a cooldown instead of continuing a low-quality conflict.
Flooding is a body state, not a character flaw. In a work conflict, the obvious topic is often not the only problem. A release risk, budget cut, or quality disagreement may be real, but the conversation also has a physiological layer. When someone becomes flooded, their body reads the exchange as threat. Attention narrows, heart rate rises, and the person starts protecting status, belonging, or competence. That is why smart people suddenly repeat themselves, interrupt, go silent, or hear ordinary questions as attacks. The cue before the crash The useful moment is before the crash. Listen for speed, volume, repetition,…
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