Think 5, Deescalating a Situation

When a person works with the public, at any time he/she could encounter a very angry person. In my line of work, this type of encounter happens on a daily basis. Although it's a challenge, I try my best to always be prepared for these types of interactions. Each morning before I unlock my door to greet the public, I always reflect on the Think 5 principle - If I decide to act on my thoughts, how will my life be affected in the next 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months, and 5 years? Sometimes I have to repeat this to myself because it's easier to just greet a person with unpleasantries when someone is unkind for no reason at all. Instead of returning insult for insult, I do the following: 1) Maintain my composure; 2) Give eye contact so the person knows that I'm listening to them; 3) Wait for them to finish their thoughts; and 4) Proceed in trying to assist them in resolving their concerns. Does this always work? I would have to say no and yes. No, because some people are just unhappy people and no matter what I did to resolve the situation they still walked away angry. Yes, because I walked away knowing that I did not allow this person to compromise my professionalism, reputation, but most of all my job. Exchanging insult for insult will only escalate the situation to possibly hurt feelings, a physical assault, threats, or even death. It's not worth it! I am always practicing projective thinking via Think 5 when dealing with the public. You should try it too!