Public Transit

Dave Young here.

Inmates are the masters at developing and using improvised weapons. Every year corrections officers seize hundreds of improvised weapons confiscated inside their facilities. Everything from a file down comb to sharpen toothbrush to melted down plastic ware.  There is no limit is their imagination.

Your safety depends on your understanding what to look for; how do identifying threat indicators during contact; managing distance to control position; knowing what your escape routes are; and understanding when it is time to disengage.

The class then provided realistic “hands on” and “weapons on” responses to an edged weapon assaults.

In addition, on the front-end, the class covered how to de-escalate the situation and the back-end how to follow through after the incident to keep everyone safe both physically and legally.

Watch the video link below to see the class in action.

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I want to thank all the trainers in the state of West Virginia to include the West Virginia regional jails instructors on a great job, energy and effort this week!  See everybody again soon!

Hello,  This is Gary Klugiewicz.  Dave Young and I are teaching a class next week at Access Services, a paratransit services company, located in El Monte, CA.   We will be training both law enforcement and transit professionals.  Watch for additional updates from the class.

I wanted to share this e-mail that I received that addressed the power of the SHOWTIME Mindset in preparing for and prevailing in stressful situations.  The fact that we are training transit professional next week provides a real tie in to this incident.   Cheryl Schattschneider, a Milwaukee area correctional officer, was assigned to drive her facility’s prisoner transportation bus and had to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL).  Posted below is the e-mail that she sent me telling me about her experience and the power of the SHOWTIME Mindset in successfully completing her task.

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Gary,

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you. Without even knowing it, you (and VDI, really) helped me to pass my CDL road test. Allow me to explain with a bit of a background story added.

Since I am a K9 handler and weapon certified officer at the House of Correction, I was required to obtain my commercial driver’s license (CDL). I literally procrastinated as long as possible on doing this, as I am a self-proclaimed horrible driver and had absolutely NO desire to drive a bus. Unfortunately the day came that my administration held me accountable and I was pushed to achieve this goal that was set for me.  I was given four days of driving training and experience with Milwaukee County Transit (MCT) on a city bus, and scheduled to take my road test (including a long and technical pre-trip inspection portion) on a cold and snowy December morning. Keep in mind now, I am not at all mechanically inclined and I was afraid to drive a huge bus in even nice weather. Needless to say, I arrived for my test more than just a little bit nervous.

As I arrived early to my appointment, I spent about 30 minutes nervously waiting to meet my examiner and head to the dreaded bus for my test. Then, due to technical difficulties with her computer, I got to be nervous for an extra 30 minutes or so before we were ready to begin. When it was finally time, the examiner looked at me and asked, “Ready?” I nervously replied, “I think so.” The next thing she said to me was, “Okay, SHOWTIME!”

It was amazing how that one simple word had so much power in that moment. I felt myself smile for the first time all morning, and instantly had a sense of calmness and focus. “Showtime”…. I am NOT a mechanically challenged bad driver that should move to a place where it never snows. “Showtime”…. I AM a highly skilled bus driver that knows exactly what I’m talking about when pointing out all of the different parts of the suspension, engine, and brake systems. “Showtime”…. I got this!

So, long story long – I passed. I actually performed better than I thought I would. Not perfect, but pretty darn good. I’m sure the training I received throughout the week played a large role in that. But I also am positive that “Showtime” was what helped me to pull it all together in that moment and succeed.  So, THANK YOU and the VDI team for providing such great training to Milwaukee County Transit that they are clearly utilizing to help train others.

Cheryl A. Schattschneider

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Cheryl,  Thank you for sharing your experience with us and reminding us that the SHOWTIME Mindset apply to all stressful situations.

Please provide your comments below to this post.

We would love to hear from you.  You can post your written or video post directly to me at http://vistelar.com/floodgate using the vistelar password.  I will review your posts and contact you with any questions.  Or, you an contact me directly at gklugiewicz@vistelar.com.  I look forward to your submissions.

Hello there.

Gary Klugiewicz here.

Vistelar introduced a number of significant changes to our courseware at the recent Beyond Conflict Conference held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  At last week’s Rockville Centre, NY Police Department Verbal Defense & Influence Instructor Class, Dave Young and I first presented this material.  We introduced the new manuals, workbooks, and PowerPoints.   The material was very well received.

Watch the video below that explains how we now review incidents using the Point-of-Impact 6 C’s of Conflict Management.  This new incident review concept included Context, Contact, Conflict, Crisis, Combat, and Closure to describe how conflict can be prevented and/or managed.  This video also describes how the revised Communication under Pressure Card helps contact professional to manage these conflicts.   Please comment below on your thoughts on my explanation of these changes.

Let’s keep everyone safe.
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Hi there.

This is Dave Young.

Check out this I Video showing the instructor training that being conducted for the City of Las Vegas Department of Public Safety.

Gary Klugiewicz and I had the pleasure of training with 16 instructor from the United States and Canada.

I was a great learning experience for them and us.
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Hi There,

Gary Klugiewicz here with another Radio Health Journal audiotape that provides great suggestions for staying positive in what is oftentimes a very negative focused world.

This message shows us how to overcome our focus on negative events by learning how to hardwire happiness.

16-22 Segment 2: Hardwiring Happiness

In Verbal Defense & Influence we spend a great deal of time in our peace stories that stress positive outcomes.

We need to learn how to take the positive events in our life and focus on them.

Please let us know what you think about his lesson in the comment section below.

Good morning.

This is Gary Klugiewicz.

This week Coach Lindsey’s quote discussed the difference between looking and seeing.

WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING AT SOMETHING OR SOMEONE, DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SEEING?

What is the difference between taking a quick photo of the person and situation versus taking a video of the person and situation. The long term “seeing” of the person and situation allow you to examine the person’s words, tone, and other non-verbals, as well as, the context of situation in greater detail allowing you to “see” more fully what is actually going on. Merely taking a quick photo of the person and situation doesn’t allow you to do accomplish this level of understanding. As we like to say, proper response begins with remaining alert and to remain alert, you need to “pay attention.”

Watch Coach Lindsey’s video on this topic and comment below.

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Greetings to my Fellow Americans on the Fourth of July 2016,

This is Gary Klugiewicz.

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Its usually warm in Wisconsin by this time. The weather coupled with a three day weekend that can be spent with family and friends makes for a great getaway from the stressors and conflict of the real world.

It is also a great time to remember who we are, how we got here, and what we need to prevail in an increasingly hostile world.

We are Americans. I remember a quote from a 1960’s TV Show starring E.G Marshall called the Defenders. You can google it for more information but it started with a quote that I will always remember: “Democracy is a very bad form of government but all the rest are so much worse.” Now, I know that the United States has a representative form of government but the quote still holds true. Our system of government is truly inefficient, problem filled, and, at times, extremely frustrating for all parties involved. The United States is still the greatest country in the world as can be seen by all the millions of people who are trying to get in.

I put the “America: The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave” Quote on the Flag in the featured image for a reason. We are the Home of the Free but to remain the free, we will need to be the Home of the Brave. It is going to take courage to get through these challenging and changing times. Let’s commit ourselves as a nation to get this job done.

One final point, our Verbal Defense & Influences Classes begin with this attempt at establishing a positive social contract. We ask instructors and class attendees to agree to this foundational principle. “Do we agree to treat each other with dignity and show each other respect – even though we may disagree?” We then all confirm our agreement by giving the traditional “thumbs up” hand gesture. Perhaps we should start more of our political discussions, workplace interactions, and family talks with this pre-meeting expectation contracting. Disrespect doesn’t lead to collaboration, cooperation, or even long term compliance.

What do you think? Can I get a thumbs up as means to enhance our country rather than disrupting it?

Greetings from Gary Klugiewicz.

One of the greatest messages that I share with the people that I train all around the county is adapted from the movie, “Roadhouse.”   Patrick Swayze, the head bouncer is a rough & tumble county road house explains how to handle their “40 year old adolescents, felons, power drinkers, and trustees of modern chemistry.”   He makes the point that you have to be nice until its time to not be nice …  to his quote we have added … then you need to be nice again.

The infographic the accompanies this post make the graphic point that their is a time not to be nice.  This may include a police officer be required to use physical force to subdue a resisting or assault subject.  But this goes much further than this limited application of the concept.   Every time that persuasion fails you are required to take appropriate action.  Depending on your situation, this could include sanctioning the person in some way whether is a refusal service, disciplinary action, a school detention, or getting grounded, sanction may accompany poor behavior or decisions.   This is what we refer to as ‘the time not to be nice – exemplified by the fist.

The most important part of the quote is the first part – “You have to be nice”, followed by the last part of the quote -“and then you have to be nice again.”    Although the middle part of the quote – “until its time not to be nice” is going to happen, we need to focus on how the incident began and how it ended – the “nice” parts of any conflict situation.  The way these three parts of an incident are remembered are sometimes referred to an the Law of Primacy, the Muddled Middle, and the Law of Recency.   The beginning and end of any incident will be best remembered.  This is why in our training, we focus on beginning whenever possible with a Universal Greeting that sets up the best chance of non-escalation in the encounter and conclude with an Appropriate Close that will bring closure to the incident that hopefully provides resolution to the conflict and sets up a better atmosphere for future contact.

” Remember that you need to be nice until its time not to be nice and then you need to be nice again.”

Hello there.

Gary Klugiewicz here.

You know that I am a great fan of the Radio Health Journal radio program. Recently they had another great program that I pasted a link to below. The program discussed the importance of building relationships with homeless person in order to build the trust to get them to participate in healthcare programs. As all contact professionals who interact with at-risk but potentially dangerous populations on the street, relationships are necessary to foster both trust and safety for all parties involved. Check out this audiotape that illustrates the difficulty in building trust, as well as, the benefits that can be derived from the creation of  mutual trust. There are lessons here to be learned for those who provide street medical and mental health care, hospital and mental health facility professionals, and public safety officers, fire fighters, and EMS personnel who interact with these street persons on a regular basis.

I hope you enjoy this audiotape.

16-20 Segment 1: Homeless Medical Care

Please provide your comments below.

Let’s all have a safe and productive week.

Hello.

This is Coach Lindsey bringing you a question to consider.

What give you the best advantage and is also the pathway to empowerment especially in verbal communication?

Is it hearing or is it listening?

Let’s pursue this topic together and find the answer.
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Please post your comments below.