Client resistance and verbal conflict is a daily part of life for probation officers, parole officers, and treatment specialists. Clients frequently resist motivational interviewing, fail to provide proof that they are seeking employment, and fail to follow through on counseling appointments. At times they can become argumentative and evening threatening. What options do we have for handling resistance and noncompliance other than formal sanctions? Yet community corrections professionals are expected to only use formal sanctions sparingly. Have we been trained how to handle client resistance to compliance in a tactful, professional, and successful way? Have we been given tools for motivating compliance in ways that do not always have to fall back on threats of formal sanctions? Perhaps this may be an area where our training tapes have run out, where we do our best to improvise, based on trial and error. Wouldn’t it be better to have training in evidence-based techniques to help us deal with verbal conflict, and overcome client psychological resistance / noncompliance?

Surviving Verbal Conflict® verbal de-escalation training can provide community corrections professionals with time-tested, evidence-based communication skills proven to help de-escalate volatile situations, safeguard officers’ emotional and professional well-being, and significantly enhance the agency’s professional image. 

This 2-hour webinar is a brief primer of the full Surviving Verbal Conflict® course. This webinar will introduce the attendee to the basic tenants of the Surviving Verbal Conflict® system. It will give the attendee a basic foundation in verbal de-escalation skills that the attendee can start to practice and apply right away in their jobs. Attendees who do follow through on practicing the basic skills taught in this webinar will be well on their way to becoming more effective professionals in interpersonal communication.

Course Topics:

• Improve public safety professionals’ verbal communication skills
• How to apply Rhetoric- Aristotle’s Art of Persuasion (The art of using speech to persuade) when deflecting & redirecting verbal abuse
• Develop an understanding of Chief Dolan’s “Guardians of the Peace” concept “Language of the Street Fallacy”, “TUI Pattern” (texting, typing or talking under the influence)
• Defuse potentially volatile verbal encounters
• Avoid the “Rope-A-Dope Syndrome”
• Understand the importance of managing “Hyper vigilance”
• Raise organizational morale and grasp the concept of “Police Legitimacy”
• Manage your verbal triggers & sidestep the “Niagara Falls Walk”
• Significantly enhance the agency’s image throughout the community
• Practice “Verbal Contact & Cover” principles
• Apply the FAA’s “Sterile Cockpit Rule” on duty
• Understand the importance of “Chief Dolan’s 24 Hour Rule” as a key component of communication success