When you’re in the middle of a conflict, it seems to last forever. But conflicts do end. The approach you choose for dealing with conflict affects not only your future communication with those involved but also the speed with which your conflict will conclude, and the type of ending that will occur.

Some conflicts are brief—they quickly flare up and just as quickly burn out—but others are more enduring and go on for extensive periods of time (even years!). But eventually, most conflicts reach some sort of conclusion. Since conflicts usually occur between people who are close—whether group members, friends, lovers, family, or coworkers—these conclusions are necessary for the relationships to continue. The approach used to manage a conflict directly determines how it will end. Most conflicts end in one of five ways: separation, domination, compromise, integrative agreements, or structural improvements (Peterson, 2002).