CONFLICT RESOLUTION & DE-ESCALATION TECHNIQUES
UH Mānoa Department of Public Safety
AGENDA
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Precipitating factors and signs of agitation
Verbal and nonverbal de-escalation techniques
Ending de-escalation
How to ask someone to leave
Dealing with difficult people
Debriefing
Example scenarios (will take feedback from participants)
DE-ESCALATION TECHNIQUES
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Reasoning with an angry person is not possible. The first and only objective of de-escalation is to reduce the level of agitation so that discussion becomes possible.
De-escalation techniques are inherently abnormal. They go against our natural ‘fight or flight’ reflexes. To be effective, we must remain calm and centered. We need to be professionally detached. Therefore these skills require practice to become useful.
There are two key concepts to remember:
PRECIPITATING FACTORS
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Loss of personal power
Need to maintain self-esteem
Fear
Failure
Seeking attention
Displaced anger
Psychological or physiological causes
SIGNS OF AGITATION
Verbal
Non-Verbal
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THE COMMUNICATION EQUATION
40% of the message: What you hear
• Tone of voice
• Vocal clarity
• Verbal expressiveness
50% of the message: What you see
• Facial expression
• Dress and grooming
• Posture/body language
• Eye contact
• Gestures
ONLY 10% of the message: Your words!
NON-VERBAL TECHNIQUES
Model these non-verbal behaviors:
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REMEMBER: Calm is just as contagious as fear or panic
NON-VERBAL TECHNIQUES
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Appear Calm and self-assured
Select an appropriate location
Maintain limited eye contact
Maintain a neutral facial expression
Maintain an alert posture
Keep your hands to yourself
Speak soothingly
Position yourself for safety
NON-VERBAL TECHNIQUES
Simple Listening Skills
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VERBAL TECHNIQUES
Remember: communication is key!
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VERBAL TECHNIQUES
Finding common ground is important:
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DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE (VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON)
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SAMPLE STATEMENTS
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“I recognize how frustrated you are and I want to work with you. We need to take a step back for a minute so we can look at this situation together.”
Repeat the statement calmly two times. The third time, add:
THEN
“I am going to end this conversation. I will not speak with another adult who is (yelling, cursing, etc.)”
“as your case manager, I will not speak to someone who uses [vulgar/crass/inappropriate/ disrespectful] language.”
OR
ENDING DE-ESCALATION
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OR
When the person has calmed down, you can then begin to address their individual situation and make a plan with them, in the same patient and professional manner that you have already displayed.
The person you are working with does not respond to your efforts at de-escalating the situation and you need to end the interaction without exacerbating things or putting yourself or anyone else in harm’s way.
ENDING �DE-ESCALATION
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Close the conversation and ask the person to leave (more on this in a moment)
If you are concerned that picking up the phone to call 911 may agitate the person further, consider an alternative alerting system.
Contact 911 if the person refuses to leave.
Trust your instincts. If the de-escalation is not working, stop.
ASKING SOMEONE TO LEAVE
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STEP 1: Let them know that you take the issue seriously, but need time to research the problem and/or talk to others involved
STEP 2: Offer to set a meeting for a later date, or offer to contact them (phone/email) to follow up
WHY THIS WORKS: Once you set up a follow-up plan, they will most likely leave on their own
If you need more time to address the issue:
ASKING SOMEONE TO LEAVE
Things to Remember:
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WHAT IF THEY REFUSE TO LEAVE?
If you have done all you can, and the person is unwilling to accept your resolution/response:
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If they refuse to leave
or continue to argue
Politely request that
they leave
AND
“I have politely asked you to leave, and if you do not do so, I will have to call the police/security to escort you out.”
“I understand that you are frustrated, but we have talked through this and have done all we can - I need to ask you to leave”
“Thank you for sharing your feedback. We will take it into consideration, but now I need to ask you to leave.”
“You are making me feel very uncomfortable right now - I need to ask you to leave.”
REMEMBER:
DOCUMENTING INCIDENTS
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Even if an incident seems like it doesn’t rise to the level of a formal complaint, document it just in case.
Open a document on your computer and add to it after each interaction - note the date and time of the interaction, what was said by both parties, and any other notes you have.
Document emails too - in the same document, add a note of the date(s) of any emails of concern so you can keep an accurate timeline.
When you make a formal complaint, it is much easier to do so when you have documented the details each time, while they were fresh in your mind. If too much time passes, it is much more difficult to remember exactly what happened and when.
DEBRIEF THE SITUATION
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When in doubt, contact your direct supervisor/lead to let them know of the incident, chain of command
Immediately meet with coworkers, team members or a supervisor after an incident to make sure everyone is okay
Talking about it can relieve stress
Discuss what was done well and areas for improvement
Discuss actions to be taken if a similar situation occurs
EXAMPLE SCENARIO #1
When a staff member is speaking to another staff member in an elevated tone and clapping their hands together in their face, how do you handle that?
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EXAMPLE SCENARIO #2
A client is yelling and becoming agitated while having a drug induced psychosis and a staff member started yelling back at them, how could they have handled this better?
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Question and Answer
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EXAMPLE SCENARIO #3
A shop owner became angry that the provider wasn’t physically removing a houseless individual from the front of their store, how can the staff mediate the situation?
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EXAMPLE SCENARIO #4
Client threatened bodily harm to a staff member and is starting to step closer to them, how do you de-escalate without it becoming violent.
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PRACTICE SCENARIO #2
You are an employee of department X and just got back from lunch to find a community member standing outside your office. All other employees are in a meeting, and your supervisor is unavailable. The person demands to speak to you because one of your employees was allegedly parked in a handicapped parking space. The community member wants to file a complaint.
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IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION
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EMERGENCY (POLICE/FIRE/EMS): 911
UHM DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: (808) 956-6911
SAFETY ESCORT SERVICE: (808) 956-SAFE(7233)
Sign up for UH Alert: https://www.hawaii.edu/alert/
Download our campus safety app, Mānoa Guardian: http://manoaguardian.com/
Have more questions? Contact the Community Policing Unit: dpscpu@hawaii.edu
@uhmanoasafety