No matter your line of work, you are pretty much assured of encountering someone who is difficult to deal with--an angry customer, a disgruntled employee, a know-it-all consultant, or simply someone off the street who is mentally ill, intoxicated, or otherwise unstable. You will find yourself in situations engaging with someone who is emotional or confused or has an agenda that clearly conflicts with yours or that of your business. In these situations, can you prepare for the possibility of the interaction heading the wrong way, while still maintain a calm demeanor and a focus on shared goals and a successful outcome? What common skills do these scenarios--and many others like them--require?
In The Accord Agent, Ellis Amdur and Robert Hubal share their decades of experience working with business and social service agencies in training and developing social interaction skills, particularly in 'intense, problematic' situations with individuals who may view themselves as adversarial. The Accord Agent is someone who continually tries to reach accord with the other person, striving to establish rapport, manage crises, and de-escalate aggression. The Accord Agent maintains a focus on his or her goals, while simultaneously seeking to achieve a level of trust, engaging others with professionalism, integrity, and respect. The Accord Agent crafts the communication to form a working relationship with the other person to share in achieving the aims of his or her professional responsibilities.
Author Biography:
Ellis Amdur received his B.A. in psychology from Yale University and his M.A. in psychology from Seattle University. He is both a National Certified Counselor and a State Certified Child Mental Health Specialist. Amdur has trained in various martial arts systems for the past fifty years, spending thirteen of these years studying in Japan. He is a recognized expert in classical and modern Japanese martial traditions and has authored three iconoclastic books on the subject, as well as one instructional DVD. Since his return to the U.S. in 1988, Amdur has worked in the field of crisis intervention as a pioneering instructor for law enforcement. He has written eighteen books on the subjects of crisis intervention, hostage negotiation and the art of psychotherapy, many with subject-matter expert co-writers, as well as several works of fiction. He is a dynamic public speaker and trainer who presents to people working in a variety of professions throughout the United States and internationally. He is noted for his sometimes-outrageous humor as well as his profound breadth of knowledge. His vivid descriptions of aggressive and mentally ill people and his true-to-life role-playing of the behaviors in question give participants an almost first-hand experience of facing the real patients in question. In addition, Amdur has developed a range of consultation services, as well as a unique style of assessment and psychotherapy. Amdur's professional philosophy can best be summed up as: The development of an individual's integrity and dignity is the paramount virtue. This can only occur when people live courageously, regardless of the circumstances, and take responsibility for their roles in making the changes they desire. Robert Hubal, a cognitive scientist, has research interests in a number of areas that focus on the intelligent use of technology to better train and assess complex knowledge and skills. In one area, technology assisted learning, he has extensive experience in developing situated training and assessment systems. In another, healthcare simulation, he has developed various applications focused specifically on medical and clinical settings. In a third, intelligent virtual humans, he has developed behavioral software that enables virtual humans to act and behave realistically in controlled learning contexts. He has investigated models of cultural daily activities and patterns of life for the portrayal of activity within game-based environments. In his work at RTI International, Soar Technology, and now the University of North Carolina, Hubal has applied research results to such every day and specialized domains as medical informed consent, clinical assessment of social and interpersonal skills, consumer decision making, vigilance in security and intelligence, law enforcement interactions, and warfighter/ civilian sociocultural engagement. He holds an S.B. in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. in computer science from North Carolina State University, and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Duke University.
