Managing angry, rude, abusive, threatening, and emotional people
When someone is angry, emotional, or out of control, most people don’t struggle because they lack skill. They struggle because they don’t know what to do next.
Trying to calm the situation often makes it worse, not better, especially under pressure.
MARATE Skills gives teams a way to read what’s actually driving behaviour, respond before escalation takes hold, and avoid absorbing the emotional load.
MARATE Skills is a practical, frontline-ready approach for managing angry, abusive, threatening, and emotionally charged interactions. It uses a road-tested methodology that helps participants diagnose what is happening, defuse emotional intensity, and direct interactions toward safe and workable outcomes. The focus is on real-world application, not theory-heavy models that can fall apart under stress.
The following key result areas have been developed with over 20 years of experience working with frontline roles and form our road-tested, proven approach – the MARATE method. This method provides a practical framework that builds capability across the KRAs that determine whether interactions stabilise or spiral.
Identify behavioural cues, emotional escalation patterns, and underlying drivers of conflict. Recognise when the issue being argued is not the real issue, spot early warning signs of agitation, and understand how stress and emotion influence behaviour.
Regulate emotional and physiological responses during high-pressure interactions. Develop awareness of personal triggers, learn techniques to stay composed, and apply self-management strategies that reduce long-term psychological impact.
Defuse emotion, set boundaries, and steer interactions toward resolution. Adapt communcation styles, use assertive language appropriately, avoid common escalation traps, and apply influencing strategies that work when emotions are high.
Identify the underlying drivers of aggressive behaviours.
Use effective defusing techniques when interactions become heated or emotional.
Understand what works and what doesn’t when communicating in tense interactions.
Know your personal reaction triggers and work towards developing successful self-management behaviours.
Develop strategies for processing and recovering from high-stress interactions, including debriefing techniques and resilience building.
Apply assertiveness techniques to respond to difficult people and implement healthy boundaries.
Identify aggression styles to form effective response strategies.
Adopt influencing strategies to steer towards desired outcomes and build better rapport.
Manage physical safety risk and safely manage difficult individuals in open environments.
Apply practical frameworks for confrontations, with tailored strategies for the unique demands of frontline roles.
