Five ways to deal with angry people

Here we’ll show  techniques for cooling down situations that threaten to ignite when you don’t want them to. In all but the rarest of cases, you’ll feel better and come up with more effective solutions when you contain conflict rather than give anger a free lead. When faced an angry person, you want to do everything you can to avoid escalation. Heated arguments or even violence can erupt when escalation climbs. And escalation can happen really fast if you’re not careful.

Listen deeply

When people attack, your best diffusing strategy is listening. Really listening. Give the angry person some time to completely express their frustration. Then tell the person how you heard what they said by starting like- “I get a sense you are saying”. If the person agrees with your interpretation of their sentence then move on otherwise ask them to restate their sentence. 

Controlling pace, space, and breadth

Arguing in parking lots or other open spaces merely increases the chances of escalation. You can bring those risks down by going to places like coffee shops. Other measures are as follows-

• Suggest that the two of you sit down in chairs. This equalises the height and has a calming effect.
• Notice where the exit doors are located, just in case. This will help you feel more relaxed.
• Attempt to maintain a distance of two arm’s length away from your adversary for extra safety.
• Control the speed of your speech. It is much harder to rage against someone who speaks slowly and with pauses.

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Asking for clarification

  Many arguments occur when two people simply fail to understand what each other is trying to say. Rather than assuming that you know what the argument is about, why not ask for clarification? You can restate what you think is going on, but say that you want to be sure that you have it right. 

Speaking softly

A soft, patient voice tone and volume keeps emotions in check. It’s basically as simple as that­-pay close attention to your voice volume when an argument threatens to break out.

 Connecting

When you fell disconnected with people, it’s far easier to feel angry with them. On the other hand, even a small bit of connection can dampen hostile feelings.

All images are courtesy Pixabay

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