See the situation more clearly
Separate what happened from your interpretation. Learn what matters to people and what you still need to check.
Take the Conflict Matters Assessment →Map a conflict →CONFLICT MATTERS
Find a thoughtful next step
in a difficult situation.
Assess what is happening, design a useful way to engage, and act on a next step you can revisit. Start where you are.
A developing set of tools and field guides from Emergent Matters
START HERE
Begin where the situation calls for attention.
What would help right now?
Use the stage that fits your immediate question. You can move back when a conversation or decision reveals something new.
Make a workable way in
Clarify purpose, readiness, roles, and boundaries. For a group, make participation and decision authority explicit.
Prepare a conversation →Plan a group process →Choose, try, and follow through
Work through options and tradeoffs, make the next step specific, then return to learn what changed.
Explore ways forward →Open a follow-through worksheet →Want a response to your own words? Talk with the AI practice coach → Messages you choose to send go to OpenAI.
THE APPROACH
Assess. Design. Act.
Six connected practices, two within each stage. The sequence gives you a place to begin without assuming conflict moves in a straight line.
Move in either direction. You may need to assess again after trying an approach, redesign a conversation when participation is not working, or revise an action when new information appears. The practices are connected, not a rigid checklist.
SIX PRACTICES
Use the move that fits.
Each stage contains two practices. Open one for a concrete move, a question to test, and a field guide. Return to an earlier practice whenever the situation changes.
WORKING WORKSHEETS
Draft privately · Copy or download to keep
Put a practice to work.
Use a conflict map while assessing, a process planner while designing, or a follow-through worksheet as you act. Your writing stays on this page until you leave or reload it.
These are preparation tools. They do not contact anyone or create an agreement on someone else’s behalf.
THE PRACTITIONER BEHIND THE WORK
Jack Becker
Mediator · Dialogue and deliberation practitioner
Founder, Emergent Matters
A conversation is part of a larger process.
Jack’s work connects mediation and conflict management with public-sector stakeholder engagement, collaborative decision-making, and inclusive process design.
Conflict Matters brings those experiences together: supporting people to speak and listen with care, helping groups work through differences, and designing participation that has a clear purpose and meaningful influence.
The aim is capacity that stays with people through deliberate practice, useful tools, and reflection on what happens next.
For coaching, facilitation, a workshop, or help designing a group process, contact Jack about your situation →
The work behind Conflict Matters.
My work in mediation, public dialogue, and community decision-making has taught me to pay attention to how people navigate differences and what helps them move forward together.
Dialogue and Deliberation
At Colorado State University’s Center for Public Deliberation, Jack researched public issues and facilitated forums designed to build understanding across different experiences. His work with the Kettering Foundation included civic-engagement research and training through its Centers for Public Life network. This lineage shapes the emphasis on careful listening, making differences visible, and helping groups deliberate without assuming consensus.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Jack trained and practiced as a mediator with Jefferson County Mediation Services in Colorado and has also been affiliated with Los Angeles County Courts Mediation Services. He earned a graduate certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from USC Gould School of Law and has taught conflict-management skills to school leaders. His instructor work with The Conflict Center has also shaped the hands-on practice in these resources.
Professional Practice
Through Emergent Matters, the Civic Consulting Collaborative, and Denver Public Schools, Jack has designed and facilitated public-facing processes around difficult education, health, and community issues. That work includes contentious school-planning decisions, stakeholder engagement, and training leaders to navigate conflict. It grounds the attention here to authority, participation, decision-making, and follow-through.