“Go to the Balcony”
As William Ury reminds us in Getting Past No, during the most heated arguments it is often best for you to imagine yourself on stage and to mentally ‘go to the balcony’ or remove yourself from the situation at hand in order to take a larger view of the conflict. When engaged in a heated argument, it is often too easy to become lost in the micro details that stymie efforts towards conflict resolution. By removing yourself from the morass, you give yourself the opportunity to approach the problem in novel ways.
Focus on interests and the bigger picture rather than positions.