How Do You Talk To An Angry Person?
When we talk to an angry person, our verbal and nonverbal language helps to direct whether they escalate and become angrier or de-escalate and calm down. We hear too often in the news about people who were out of control and a crisis developed where people were hurt. We cannot give ourselves any guarantees, however, we can put the odds in our favor and help to make sure everyone is safe. I am going to give you the research based steps that are proven to help when you talk to an angry person. When you talk to an angry person, remember how their mind and body will respond. As anger escalates, people tend to go into a fight or flight mode. When that happens, their thought processes slow down, but their sensory acuity increases. They tend to perceive things as closer, louder, larger, more threatening, etc. They also just really want to vent and to be heard, It is crucial that we keep these things in mind and use this knowledge to guide our own actions. Be a good judge of when to get help.
