Monroe County Community College

La-Z-Boy Theater Building Z

1555 S Raisinville Rd, Monroe, MI 48161, USA

Verbal Diffusion- De-Escalation with Difficult Individuals

With concerns generated by COVID-19, Ukraine, social unrest, inflation, violence in schools and the workplace, some people may have feelings of emotional distress, personal problems and anger. Sometimes these feelings of uncertainly, are displaced and directed in the form of anger, to employees in various workplace settings. This program will help employees identify potentially distressed individuals and learn verbal diffusion techniques to better manage these encounters.

1.  The Landscape of Work-Life Stresses that Affect People

2.  Types of Difficult Individuals

• In Office / Work Environments
• The Entitled Patron
• The Angry Customer
• In Community Settings
• Co-Workers / Contractors

3.  Situational Awareness – Identifying Confrontations

·  Did You See It Coming?

·  The “Fight of Flight” Reaction when encountering, anger, threats or possible assaultive behaviors

·  Paradigm Shift: Seeing the World Differently

·  Understanding Risks that You May See!

·  Monitoring your Own Reactions

4.  Identifying the Potentially Distressed Person

·  Affective versus Predatory Violence

·  Behavioral Indicators of the Potentially Aggressive Customer / Individual

·  Aggressive Non-Verbal, Pre-Attack Indicators

·  Verbal Threats

·  Sudden Assault

5.  Verbal Diffusion –De-Escalation Strategies

·   Decision-Making in Difficult Situations

·  Seven “Sins” to Avoid with Challenging People

·  “Rules of Engagement” with Challenging and Distressed People

·  ABCs of Verbal Diffusion

·  Active Listening Skills

·  Empathic Communications

·  Setting Limits

·  Assessing and Managing Threats

·  “Exit Strategies” in Unsafe Situations