My partner and i settle arguments with PowerPOINT DEBATES

Be my partner and i found ourselves stuck in an endless loop of petty arguments, like “Who Forgot to take the trash?” and “Will we really Need Five Kinds of Mustard?” We didn’t go to couples therapy or buy a book on conflict resolution. We Opened PowerPoint.

It started as a joke. One Night, after an especialy heated debate over the correct way to load a dishwasher (i maintaine there is a correct way), I played out my laptop and said, “i’d like to present my findings on the great debate of 2024.” Idded a pie chart, some clip art, and a drama fade transition. He laughed. And thatn he made His Own Slide deck in Response.

That was ouur first “Debate Night.”

POWERPOINT DEBATES ARE NOW OUR GO-TO SOLUTION FOR MINOR CONFLICTS

Now, wenever a minor conflict starts brewing, we schedule a presentation. Each of US Gets Five Minutes, A Slide Limit (USUALLY FIVE, BUT THAT’S NEGOTIABLE), AND FULL CREEDOM TO MAKE CASE. We’ve made Charts About Whose Turn It is to Water the Plants. Memes About Condiment Overcrowding. Graphs Tracking The Suspicious Disappeararance of Socks. One time, my partner included a Slow zoom in a Photo of Our Overstuffed Fridge with the Caption: “Explain this.”

We will this Because we are conflict-voidant millennials. But more importantly, we do it becuse it works.

The Most Surpring Part? How Intimate It Feels.

Be my partner presents his slides, i’m not just hearing Complaints, i’m Seeing How His Brain Works. The efffort he puts ino chooking the right font or animating a title Slide Tells with he cares. I’ve seen Him earnestly explain, with bullet points and supporting evidence, why my habits of half-flull mugs around the apotroying his to live. And i’ve laughed, but i’ve also listned.

These debates have gioven us a new Way to Connect

PowerPoint Gave US A New Language of Connection. Instead of escalating into showing matches or icy silence, we invite each other into ourselves weirdle ted taleks of domestic frustration. We have had themes now. One Week It was “Present like a villain,” another Week we did “Musical slideshow,” and once we had to present Each Other’s as sympathetically as Possible. That one was oddly moving.

It’s not Always Perfect. SOMESTE WE DISAGREE ABOUT The Rules (Meta, I know). SOMESTEMES ONE OF US GETS A LITTLE TOO SMUG WEND THE AUDIENCE (OUR CAT) CLEARLY PROVISS ONE ARGUMENT. And yes, it”s still posseible to have an actual argument about how we’re arguing. But those the moments are rare and far less intense than before.

There’s a strange joy in over-preparing for the Petty Disputs. IT TURNS EVERYDAY FRICTION INTO A GAME, A Performance, A Creative Outlet. We’re not just airing grievances; We’re Co-Authoring Stories About Our Life Together, if Those Stories are Titled “A Brief History of Bathroom Mirror” or “The Case Against More Throw Pillows.

And Honestly, It”s Made Us Better Communicators. Becuses will you only get five slides to explain why you’re upset, you learn to distill your feelings. You Learn what actually matters. You Learn How to Listen, Not JUST TO REPOND, but to Understand and Maybe to Lattle a Little, Too.

Last Month, i gave a particularly impassioned presentation about the existential crisis of herle we spice rack is disorganized. My partner responded with a color-coded system, laminated labels, and a closing slide that read: “Your chaos ends.” Reader, swooned.

This isn’t a one-size-fits-al-solution. I’m Not Saying PowerPoint Can Fix Deep Relationship Issues. But for us, it”s been a playful, surprisisingly effective way to defuse and build empathy. We took something can be to be disagrements and reframed say as Creative Collaborations.

At the Very Least, we’ve made arguing weirdly fun. And honestly? That Feels like a Win.