Don Shomette | Safe & Loved

Before You React, Ask This First!

What’s the first question you always ask when
someone warns you about a threat?

How do you know?

Their answer will always fall into one of three categories:

1. Observed – “I saw it myself.”
2. Told – “Someone told me.”
3. Suspected – “I believe it.”

If they OBSERVED the behavior then the credibility of the information skyrockets. After all, they saw it.

If they say they were TOLD by someone else, then the information is still valuable but it requires additional verification.

If they say I BELIEVE it, that still matters.
Every day intuition save lives.
But you’ll need to do a lot more digging to get to the truth.

Each time that you receive a tip or information,
assign one of these 3 words to the behavior.

For example…

A student observed a hit list.
A student was told about a hit list.
A student suspects Billy has a hit list.

You can see that while the behavior is the same, your feelings about how fast you must act is different.

Make these three words part of every safety conversation.
It’s a small habit, but it gives you a huge advantage. You’ll respond with greater precision, save time, reduce the risk of unfairly labeling students, and hopefully avoid heartache down the road.

This lesson comes from Stopping Threats & Dangerous Students, part of Threat Pillar 2: Assess (Awareness). This training goes even further showing you how to conduct student safety assessments, stop threats early, and respond to dangerous behavior with speed and clarity.

Student Safety Assessments →

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Before You React, Ask This First!

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