Communication Mistakes to Avoid Flashcards
What kind of people would a security officer have to communicate with?
People who are confused, angry, or upset.
What is a standard part of a security officers job?
Communicating with the public.
What feelings could communication mistakes invoke in the other party?
Person may feel slighted, disrespected, wronged, or defensive.
How does the way you communicate affect a situation?
How you respond can mean the difference between a situation that ends quietly and quickly and one that escalates.
Who are the two types of people that can be placed in a position of authority?
The authoritarian and Authoritative.
What sort of things would you hear from an authoritarian security officer?
“Because I said so.”
“My way or the highway.”
“No discussion.”
“Just do what I say.”
What does it mean to be Authoritative?
you engage in dialogue or negotiation if you will, you communicate, you listen, you find out what’s going on, and you empathize.
What should you say instead of “Come here!”?
“excuse me, let’s have a chat. Could you step over here please sir.”
What could you say instead of “hey, let me talk to you?” ?
“May I have a minute of your time to discuss this?”
“May we step aside and discuss this?”
How should you begin any conversation?
introduce yourself and then politely engage in the discussion at hand.
If asked for clarification what should you not say?
“You wouldn’t understand.”
If you believe your message didn’t get across properly, what should you say?
“Let me see if I can explain this better.”
“I don’t think I’m explaining this right.”
place the burden on yourself. Let’s give people more credit. Let’s give people a little bit of respect. Let’s not assume that people wouldn’t understand things.
What is the middle eastern proverb?
“you have said nothing until somebody understands it.’
What should you always do if asked for?
Give a reason, even if its brief and even if you are in a hurry.
What is an arbitrary and insensitive comment to make?
“Because those are the rules.”
You are treating people like children. Explain the reason for the rule. Give an explanation.
What should be ready with when you hear “why?” ?
An explanation.
What can you say instead of “None of your business”?
“The parties involved don’t want to divulge any information right now.”
What should you say instead of “What do you want me to do about it !?” ?
“What kind of assistance were you seeking?”
your response should have an expression of curiosity and interest.
What is your responsibility as a security officer?
customer service.
Instead of saying “Calm down!”, what should you say?
“Its going to be alright. Talk to me.”
Instead of saying “What is your problem?, what should you say?
“What’s the matter? May I help you?”
Their most immediate problem when you speak incorrectly is you.
Which phrases should you avoid?
“You never -“
“You always -“
To your coworker, instead of saying “ you always leave it to someone else to respond to customer assist calls”, what should you say?
“It seems that when I am on shift with you I have to attend to most of the customer calls in the parking lot.”
To your coworker, instead of saying “you never complete your patrols in the parking lot”, what should you say?
“Often it seems you leave the parking deck patrol to other officers.”
Instead of saying “I’m not going to tell you this again” what should you say?
“Let me say this a different way.”
Instead of implied threats, what should you do?
create enforceable limits.
take time to explain.
What should you do before making a decision?
Ask questions and gather all the information that you can.
Middle eastern proverb -> “A fool answers a matter before he’s heard it.”
Instead of cutting someone off and saying “yeah yeah, I know what your talking about” what should you say?
Listen. Let them speak.
What are the two recommendations when it seems a conversation isn’t going anywhere or the other party is being completely unreasonable?
Give them other options or decide that the debate is over. Call for assistance.
After trying every peaceful way to diffuse a situation, what should a security officer do?
call dispatch for backup.
Why do statements that start with “You never” or “You always” not work?
They imply that a person has done ( or not done ) something the same way each time.
They put the other person on the defensive.
They make the other person angry.
When is it difficult to listen to people are saying to you?
when you cut them off.
What is true about how most people follow rules?
Most people will follow rules as long as there is an explanation as to why.
An angry customer at a hotel complains to the security officer that the woman behind the check-in counter was rude. What should the officer say to diffuse the situation?
“Tell me what happened.”
