Have you or someone you know experienced a violent or potentially dangerous situation where you were unsure of what to do or say? You are not alone! A violent and/or dangerous situation can occur at any time in any place, so it is important to educate oneself on ways to avoid or diffuse these types of situations.
The Crisis & Trauma Resource Institute (CTRI) was founded in 2007 by Heidi and Randy Grieser, who envision a world where everyone is trauma-informed. The CTRI was originally founded in Canada, and now has a location in the United States as well. Their mission is to “inspire learning and improve lives”. The CTRI provides a variety of training and free resources on their website that include counseling skills, mental health, and violence prevention resources.
Here are 7 tips that can be used for avoiding and/or diffusing a potentially violent situation.
- The first is situational awareness. It is important to be aware of your surroundings. Where are you? Where are the exits? Are there people close by? Be observant. Make note of the behavior of those around you. Have a plan of escape or retreat in mind in case things get out of hand.
- Secondly, use your words carefully. Avoid saying things like “calm down” that may escalate the situation. Try to remember that emotions affect how you speak so watch your tone, volume, and rate of speech.
- Thirdly, acknowledge the problem. Try to deal with the problem head on by acknowledging the emotion of the person involved. Avoid asking the individual if they are upset when it is clear that they are.
- The fourth tip encourages one to be a great listener. Maintain a safe distance and use non-verbal communication to show the instigator that you are listening.
- In addition to being a good listener, tip number 5 says to be empathetic. Make it clear that you want to understand where they’re coming from in the situation.
- The sixth tip indicates that one should use silence. Silence can provide an agitated person with the opportunity to compose themselves as well as buy you some time. This can be done by saying something like, “Good point, give me a minute to think about that.”
- Finally, the seventh tip for diffusing violent situations is to give choices. People tend to get angry and/or violent when they feel like they have lost control of a situation. Providing an aggressor with choices can aid in them regaining control of themselves. Ask things like, “Do you want to tell me what happened? How did this make you feel?”
Overall, it is important to think about things like this in order to be properly prepared should you ever experience or witness a violent situation. Visualize how you would respond in a positive way in order to deescalate the situation and practice it over and over again.
Looking for some real life application and practice? Check out our next self-defense workshop
