How do you increase trust and teamwork between your team members? These 12 tips will get you pointed in the right direction. 

1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. Avoid an argument as you would a losing proposition. 

2. Never tell someone they are wrong. This is a direct insult to a person’s intelligence. 

3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. 

4. Begin in a friendly way. 

5. Get others to say “yes” immediately. Challenging ideas will be more readily accepted when communication starts with an agreement. 

6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking. It allows them to share information and possibly talk themselves into the decision you are looking for. 

7. Let others feel that an idea is theirs. What is right is more important than who is right. 

8. Make an honest attempt to see things from others’ perspectives. Their view may be clearer than yours. 

9. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires. This keeps communication open. 

10. Appeal to nobler motives. People will work harder for higher aims of society. 

11. Dramatize your ideas. Expressing your ideas in different ways enhances their appeal. 

12. Throw down a challenge. Use people’s competitive natures.