Hi All,

As Wayne Dyer once said: “Conflict cannot survive without your participation.”

So how are you participating?  What are you doing, for instance, to create a non-escalating environment and/or to de-escalate to bring the environment back to calmness?

Are you letting your ego run things so that you continue to need to feel superior to the other person?  If so, you’re elevating the need to keep your ego supreme over keeping yourself and everyone else safe.  While you’re reading this, can your ego even allow you to sincerely consider this?

Are you throwing gasoline onto the fire?  Or are you throwing water?

Law Enforcement Officers, Public Safety Officials, and all Contact Professionals, what mind/verbal tools do you carry on your tool belt?  Canisters of gasoline?  Or water?  Has your leader provided you no tools, other than defensive tactics, when s/he knows full well that 98%-ish of all encounters are just verbal contacts (in which defensive tactics are not employed)?

Are you carrying any tools at all?  Or are you just relying on whatever naturally comes out of your mouth (which will likely be a disaster)?

Aristotle made clear that audiences (other people) are made (i.e., influenced), not found.  Let’s work to make (i.e., influence) others as cooperative, collaborative, and compliant as possible.  You and your organization/agency will be safer (in all aspects).

Farewell!