Pattern Interruption for Conflict Managment

Hello

What are your thoughts on using various kinds of pattern interruption in a situation where somebody may be acting aggressively towards you?

Of course, a pre-emptive strike is a form of pattern interruption if it is combined with submissive behaviour.

But what about the more subtle Deren Brown type interruptions/breaks? Could they work?

Thank you

Tacpro

Tacpro--hiya,
i think you'll find most on this site to be open to all those pattern interrupts
that favor deescalation. i've seen Richie clips on you tube where he's talked
about simply barking out nonsensical sounds with the correct body language,
conveying a directive, and also [what you're asking] redirecting attention
to an outside idea--psychiatrist style [look at the barmaid, why don't i buy you
a drink], and lastly blurting out nonsense so as to sort of throw someone off
enough to interrupt what was gathering speed by way of some escalating agro.

said another way, a good mind fook is sound advice--the mind is the biggest
muscle we all have. from it we draw courage, sharp incites, tricky counter intuitive
behavior--all of which contribute to unraveling the expectations of the guy [or
girl] in front of us.

it's more a factor of what you have time for--is there wiggle room, is this person
on the periphery of conviction? all these chess moves do not fit into a huge time
slot. they work immediately, or you should ditch them. by work, this could mean
that something has changed enough for you to build on it...even if it's just getting
a pre-emptive in as you see that it only afforded you paus to fight or flee.

my opinion--but i've seen enough of what some of the guys here write and i think
it addresses your question.

-Russ

Psychology appears more fickle, and less predictable than force. So never a guarantee. But I do think they can be applied. The incident with the two guys who were setting me up for instance. They were probably just bored, so no real intent or commitment. And this was before I became familliar with NLP and the like. But looking back, I noticed and made use of an opportunity to build rapport, through a handshake. There might also be a bit of leading and setting a frame there... Then the whole unspoken ego-up "you're cool and I'm just like you" thing. But the boss-man was suddenly no longer interested in fighting, while the other guy was still sneaking up from behind, grabbing my jacket and becoming very confused about the change of plan. Next problem became how to get rid of the new friends. Not bad for a half-drunk, semi-incompetant bunch of bad habits.

Mind you that is NOT a recipie for anything. I hadn't a clue what the fuck I was doing, and the whole thing was probably 99% situational. But we're still talking about people here. If there is opportunity for it, I think that if you can capture a mind, you can lead it. IF you know what you're doing, and have skill. I lucked out on good advice and a bit of social-instinct.

RichardB wrote:

Mind you that is NOT a recipie for anything. I hadn't a clue what the fuck I was doing, and the whole thing was probably 99% situational. But we're still talking about people here. If there is opportunity for it, I think that if you can capture a mind, you can lead it. IF you know what you're doing, and have skill. I lucked out on good advice and a bit of social-instinct.

social instinct...good discriptive. i think it's like you say--puttin it in my words:
self belief [you'd be surprized how far balls can lead you]
luck [you've upped your chances, maybe even to 90%, but still there's a risk]

and for what you describe as social instinct, i would call being aware of subtles. i've done
some rather foolish bluffs--but only because i've been able to project what i felt [subconsciously
and consciously] their own value systems fear-values. i'd like to think i was prepared to back it
up, but i'm glad i didn't have to as i'll never really know i guess. my self belief was strong enough,
however, to sell either the 'redirected attention' thingy, or 'increased risk' ticket. there were a few
times however that i had enough going for me to bluff with not much backing--in my years past,
where the stakes were clearly higher than i was ready for. i feel a wee bit more tenacious the older
i get--ironically, but still try and play with minds more as i have laid the ground work for this
being under my father's wacky tutilege. he was lord and master at this, his motto was,
"never overestimate the enemy, they're as dumb as they look" as previously mentioned in another
thread. he's gotten us out of a hold-up [we're in the car and a group has blocked us off] by shouting
what he's going to do [as if he's a cop]. adrenaline junky bastard that he was when living, he'd always laugh things like this off, whilst i was practically shitting myself next to him. i was his audience, which
fed his trickery showmanship.

this is where i draw my 'balls' conclusions from. i've simply seen it way too often.

Thanks for the replies.

Very interesting stuff. Maybe we could use this to start a thread where people can talk about their experiences in using psychology to diffuse a hairy situation? Sounds like people have got some stories. Having used 'social intuition' myself, I'm wondering if anybody has used NLP-type skills AFTER studying the subject. That is to say, they knew exactly what they were doing...