De-Escalate Angry, Upset People
Whether it's a child or an inmate serving a life sentence, my skills have helped calm volatile, difficult people in literally seconds. I am here to help you do the same.
Course highlights
Unlock the keys to de-escalation in Doug's specially crafted and detailed
De-escalation program.
Understand the dynamics of anger
Explore the psychological and physiological aspects of anger, its root causes, and how it manifests in individuals. Gain insights into different anger styles and their impact on a persons behaviour.
Recognizing triggers and early warning signs
Learn to identify common triggers that can lead to anger outbursts and recognize the early warning signs exhibited by individuals. Develop observational skills to anticipate and prevent escalations.
Empathetic listening and effective communication
Discover the power of active listening, empathetic communication, and non-verbal cues. Acquire techniques to build rapport and establish trust, even in high-stress situations.
De-escalation strategies and techniques
Master a range of proven
de-escalation strategies, including defusing anger, assertive communication, setting boundaries, and providing choices. Understand the importance of self-control and emotional regulation in managing volatile encounters.
Detailed explanations and demonstrations of each skill
Effective role-playing exercises and practice
The course has been crafted for visual learners, ensuring you learn the skills needed quickly.
How the De-Escalation Skills Work
Our brains have a variety of neural networks that respond to memories, sensations, and stimuli. At a basic level, we experience pleasantness or unpleasantness. The physiological changes are called affect.
All humans are born with effect. However, humans are not born with emotions. Emotions are created by our brains beginning at about 18 months. At that age, the emotional centres of the brain begin to mature and function. We learn to categorize various effect into concepts associated with words. These are called emotions.
The job of the toddler to the pre-school brain is to build a database of emotions in a process known as emotional categorization. Unfortunately, due to cultural biases against emotional competency, the process of emotional categorization is stunted. Children learn some rudimentary emotions but do not become skilled.
As a result, when a child or an adult becomes angry, the prefrontal cortex in charge of the emotional database shuts down. Since the brain can no longer make sense of what's going on, the affective state accelerates and activates. In toddlers, this is called a meltdown. In adults, it is called an angry outburst. In either case, the brain cannot process affect into emotion, which causes people to be reactive and aggressive.
Research by neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman shows that when emotions are labelled, the prefrontal cortex comes back online and the amygdala calms down. In effect, affect labelling acts like the listener is lending his or her prefrontal cortex to the angry person.
The result is remarkable. Within seconds, the anger dissipates and calm is restored.
The trick to de-escalating strong emotions is learning how to ignore the words, pay attention to the emotions, and reflect back on the emotions with a simple "you." statement.
Get Doug's Book
De-Escalate: How to Calm an Angry Person in 90 Seconds or Less
