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In today’s video, we are going to focus on the need for developing intuitive recognition of pre-event indicators to violence when in close proximity to people you don’t know.

Click the “More” button to view the exercise.

The Workout

  • Watch the video through once, focusing on the man on the left side of the frame wearing the hooded jacket.
    • For context, this is a video taken in Italy where a reporter (person on the right side of frame) is asking the brother of a mafia boss (person on the left side of the frame) about their connections to a political party.
  • Determine the cluster of behavior that the man (mafia boss’ brother) shifts into just before attacking the reporter.
  • Identify three behavioral indicators (cues) that support your assessment.
  • Write your answers on a sheet of paper before viewing our answers

[expand title=”View Our Answers”]

  • Cluster: Dominance
  • Indicators
    • Feet spread out to greater than shoulder width apart as he steps back
    • Torso leans forward
    • Mission focus on reporter
  • To see a discussion about the importance of assessing dominance in this situation, please read the“Enhance the Workout” section below.
  • Add a comment with the assessments that you made, but that we didn’t make, so that we can check for those assessments and provide feedback on those specific observations.  We will add them to our answers in the post itself for future viewings of the exercise.[/expand]

Enhance The Workout

  • Reflect
    • Assessing human behavior as a means to get left of bang requires that there is time between the moment a person decides to attack another person and the moment when the attack occurs.  It is in that period of time where pre-event indicators present themselves.
    • Naturally, a longer amount of time between those two points provides an observer (1) the ability to confirm their assessment about the person’s intentions (to become violent) and (2) more opportunities to do something about it, than you would have when those two points of time are only a few seconds apart.
    • This video shows the need to be able to recognize shifts in a person’s behavior (into the dominant cluster) and to know the importance of that assessment (dominance reflects the body’s manifestation of the fight response) when there are only a few seconds between the moment a person decides to attack and when the attack actually begins.
    • In a situation where those two points in time are so close together, there isn’t the ability to consider the tradeoffs to various options to deal with the display of dominance.  You need to act right away to avoid getting hit in the face. Your decisions need to be rehearsed and ready to go. There is no time for analytical thought, only the execution of pre-planned responses to a situation like this.
    • So, consider what decision you would want to make in this particular situation as a reporter once you see the shift into dominance (before the head-but occurs). Even if you hold a position of authority in real life, as a reporter, you likely aren’t going to respond to the shift into dominance with aggression of your own.  Also, keep in mind you are dealing with the brother of a Mafia boss, so escalating the situation to a physical confrontation probably isn’t in your best interest.
    • What will you do first? What will you do if that doesn’t get you out of the situation and you are forced to adapt your plan?   Have a concrete plan for this situation before moving forward.
  • Repeat
    • The second part of being in a situation where the time between the decision to attack and the attack itself is compressed to a small window, you don’t have time to confirm the assessment and think through it analytically.
    • You need to be able to quickly recognize shifts into the dominant cluster and accelerate through your decision making process.
    • So watch this video as many times as you need until each of the three indicators from the dominant cluster that we listed in our answers are ones you can pick up on and assess very, very quickly.
    • This is a shift in behavior that we will look at in a number of videos in the Practice Section in the coming year, so repeat, repeat, repeat until you are confident you can recognize the dominant cluster quickly and accurately.
  • Act
    • Confidence requires more than just recognizing the shift in behavior from a computer screen, it requires some movement and rehearsal of the assessment and the decision/action as well.
    • Find a co-worker, friend or family member to train with, and practice having a conversation with them and have them shift their body language from the comfortable cluster to the dominant cluster during the interaction.
    • When they make the shift into dominance, execute your pre-planned movements and response until your body can develop the muscle memory needed for staying left of bang in a situation like this.

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