De-escalation & Conflict Resolution

Part of the TPD Threat Ready Series
Know how to calm a tense moment — and when to walk away from it?

How to Start
– To begin, you need to be enrolled in this course and logged in. There is no separate login or special link — everything is right here on this page. Once you’re enrolled, scroll down to the Course Content list at the bottom of this page. Click the first lesson and watch that video. When you finish a lesson, click the Mark Complete button at the bottom of the lesson page. That unlocks the next lesson in the list. Work down the list in order: Foundations and Avoiding the Confrontation, Skills That Calm a Situation, When De-escalation Isn’t Working, and then the De-escalation and Conflict Resolution Knowledge Check.

This is a self-paced online course in three video lessons, followed by a short Knowledge Check. It’s built for everyday life, workplaces, and churches. You don’t need any other course to take it.

Most conflicts don’t have to turn into a confrontation. This course is about avoiding the ones you can, calming the ones you can’t, and knowing when it’s time to leave and call for help. Safety first. Calm over correct. You don’t have to win.

What’s Included:

✅ Three online video lessons, self-paced

✅ How conflicts escalate, and how to avoid the confrontation altogether

✅ Managing your own stress response

✅ Nonverbal and verbal techniques that calm a situation

✅ When de-escalation isn’t working: disengaging and calling for help

✅ Workplace scenarios, documentation, and care after an incident

✅ A short Knowledge Check to confirm what you learned

What You’ll Learn:

Foundations and Avoiding the Confrontation. What de-escalation is and the mindset behind it. The escalation cycle, common triggers, and the signs someone is escalating. Then avoidance: noticing rising aggression, using your outs, staying near an exit, and what to do when you can’t avoid it.

Skills That Calm a Situation. Your own stress response and how to manage it. Nonverbal techniques: space, stance, hands, face, eyes, tone, and pace. Verbal techniques: active listening, empathy, choices, limits, and what not to say. Then culture, mental health, and medical factors that can change how someone behaves.

When De-escalation Isn’t Working. Recognizing when it’s failing, disengaging, calling for help, and what to do as a bystander. Workplace scenarios and procedures: the angry customer, coworker conflict, difficult meetings, and phone and email. Then documentation, post-incident care, and the key takeaways.

De-escalation and Conflict Resolution Knowledge Check — A short Knowledge Check on what you learned, mostly true or false with a couple of multiple-choice questions. You need 80% to pass, and you can retake it.

Why It Matters:

⭐ Successful de-escalation can prevent or reduce the need for any force, and leaving early keeps force as a last resort.

⭐ Practical skills for tense moments at the store, at work, at church, and at home.

⭐ Taught by Walt Mayfield — 20+ years teaching safety and defensive tactics, known for plain, practical instruction.

Important Notes:

This is an educational course, not legal advice. If you have an employer, their policies come first, and always follow local laws. No technique works every time, and you are never required to stay in danger. In an emergency, call 911.

The instructor, Walt Mayfield, is the owner and lead instructor of Train Protect Defend. Walt brings over 20 years of experience teaching safety, defensive tactics, and Texas firearms laws, and holds Texas civilian firearms instructor certifications plus NRA and USCCA credentials.

Questions? Call or text 940-222-8534, or email info@trainprotectdefend.com. Same-day or next-business-day response.