Liz asked Jim to do something for her and Jim reluctantly complied. Picking up on his resistance, she later asked, “Why did you do it?” 

Jim answered, “Because I don’t care to have a fight about it.” 

Liz said, “It’s not a fight.”

Jim responded, “You won. What more do you need?”

Liz said, “I don’t need to win. I’m not having this.” and then stormed out of the room.

Jim realized he misstepped. He responded to her initial question poorly and knew he needed to repair an awful conversation.

When cooler heads prevailed, Jim apologized for his comments and corrected himself, “I did it because it was important to you.” A much more skillful response.