i do it by just being honest. you can only speak the truth. how people react to it is out of your hands.

I've had to work really hard to open up to people and tell them what's bothering me. Up until recently, I was one of the "bury it" people. All it did was cause me to blow up when it finally got to be enough. Doesn't work.

I have to admit that I have been one of the people to just bury my problems until I reach a point where everything boils over. You do need to be truthful and speak about issues, but you should not do so while tempers are hot. Things need to be resolved when everyone is calm so as not to make things worse. Also it helps if you admit your part in the issue rather than just blaming the other person.

It depends on how serious it is. If it's not all that serious and I can let it go, than I do. If it's something I feel is important, I"ll try to handle it as quickly as possible because I don't really want to walk around having it on my mind and it might grow into something that it never was in the beginning. It's always great to be honest.

Fighting fair, as I would describe what you are saying, is a real challenge. Sometimes I have read and heard that it really helps to "mirror" back what a person is saying so you are certain that you understand it. This give you time to slow down and make sure you are really listening to the person talking. While it can first seem annoying, I think it can really help in conflict management.

Well first off you need to remember that everyone has their own opinions. Nothing we do can stop this. You just need to be willing to let the other person state their opinion, and then present your own. Give their opinion thought before dismissing it.

I think the most important thing you can do is to put yourself in the other persons shoes and try to see things from their perspective, though I realize it sounds like a total cliche. Sometimes I like to "practice" for an important conversation/ argument by trying to speak for the other person. I sometimes surprise myself by learning they have valid points I didn't know they had.