Overview

This knowledge base documents CSP’s standardized de‑escalation approach. It provides clear guidance on what de‑escalation is, how to recognize triggers, the mindset required, practical techniques, and sample scripts for real conversations with insurance adjusters, contractors (RFs), and internal teammates.

This is a reference document to support daily work, coaching, and call monitoring.

What is De‑Escalation?

De‑escalation is the intentional use of calm communication, emotional awareness, and empathy to reduce tension and prevent conversations from intensifying.

At CSP, de‑escalation means:

• Responding intentionally instead of reacting emotionally

• Acknowledging emotion before facts

• Maintaining professionalism under pressure

• Guiding conversations toward solutions

Key Principle: Calm communication = control + clarity

A. Identifying Your Own Triggers

Why is it important to identify our triggers:

1. Identifying your triggers is important because you can’t manage what you don’t notice. If you don’t see your trigger coming, you react instead of respond.

2. When we’re triggered, we lose patience faster, we talk faster, we interrupt more, and we start aiming to ‘win’ the conversation instead of guiding it

Signs you may be triggered:

• Faster speech or raised tone

• Defensiveness or over‑explaining

• Urge to prove you are right

If triggers aren’t recognized, reactions happen before intention.

Emotions control techniques

PACS is used to regain control internally before responding externally.

P — Pause: Before you respond, stop the automatic reaction — the sigh, the snap, the explanation, the urge to defend.

This one second of pausing puts you back in control. The moment you pause, your brain switches from reacting emotionally to responding intentionally. Even silence and a breath count as pausing.

A — Acknowledge: Acknowledge your emotion

This is a critical step because triggers don’t always wait for us to be ready. We might feel frustrated, defensive, or stressed before we even start talking. Acknowledging the emotion is about naming it internally. You’re not saying it out loud — you’re telling yourself:

‘I’m getting frustrated.’
‘I feel pressured.’
Naming it helps you tame it.

• Our brains naturally react emotionally to triggers.

• Once you identify what you’re feeling, you can decide how to respond instead of reacting impulsively.

C — Clarify: This is where we use the phrase: Stay curious, not furious.

Instead of defending, ask questions. Clarifying keeps your emotions low and brings the conversation back to facts. Shift from defending to understanding.

• Ask questions instead of correcting

S — Solve: focus on the objective: solving the problem, clarifying the scope, or calming the client.

You  redirect the conversation toward a solution. This is how you take back control and bring the conversation to a productive place, that’s where the conversation starts moving forward.
What is the objective? Refocus on the goal and next steps.

“Here’s what we can do next…”
“A good next step is…”
“Let’s focus on what we can control right now.”

B. Identifying Other People’s Triggers

Most escalations stem from pressure rather than intent. Common trigger categories include:

1. Ego Challenges – feeling disrespected or undermined

2. Stress Factors – workload, deadlines, financial pressure

3. Loss of Control – uncertainty, waiting, lack of updates

4. Natural Reactions – fight, flight, or freeze responses

Key Reminder: Escalation is usually about stress, not personal attacks.

Key Techniques for De‑Escalating Others

1.  Keep Your Tone Calm & Your Pace Steady

When tension rises, people don’t only react to what we say—they react to how we say it. A calm tone and steady pace signals that you’re grounded, which helps the other person calm down too. Matching someone’s intensity only escalates the situation

When someone is upset, our instinct is to defend or correct. In de-escalation, clarity comes before correction. Asking questions slows the conversation down and gives you control without being confrontational.

People cannot hear facts until their emotions are recognized. If we jump straight into explanations, they hear it as dismissive. Validation opens the door to resolution.

4. Avoid Defensive Language (Especially ‘But’)

‘But’ cancels everything before it. It triggers defensiveness. Replacing it with acknowledgment keeps the conversation collaborative.

5. Mirror & Validate to Create Connection

Mirroring shows the other person that you are listening. This decreases tension because people feel understood.

6. Redirect Toward Solutions

“After validating and understanding, move the conversation toward what can be done. This shifts the energy from frustration to action.”

7.Empathy as Strength

Understanding emotions isn’t weakness—it’s control. It keeps the conversation productive

Please find the sample scripts for both adjusters and RFs in the attachment.

Encouraging Speaking Up

To maintain a healthy culture, Claim Supplement Pro encourages all employees to speak up early when tension arises.

• Employees are reminded that raising concerns is not complaining — it’s part of maintaining professionalism.

• OMs and leadership should respond with gratitude (“Thank you for bringing this up”) to reinforce trust.

• Anonymous or written reports may be allowed if someone feels uncomfortable addressing it directly.

Purpose: To ensure all employees know who to approach, how issues are handled, and what to expect when escalation occurs — whether internally, with clients, or with leadership.

l. Step by Step flow

A. For Admins and AMs/RMs

• Step 1: If a situation becomes tense or uncomfortable, pause and document what happened (who, when, brief summary).

• Step 2: Go to your Operations Manager (OM) for support.

• RMs without an OM should reach out to Vicki directly 

• OMs will:

• Listen without judgment.

• Ask clarifying questions (e.g., “What triggered the escalation?”, “How did you respond?”).

• Identify if it’s a miscommunication, process issue, or behavioral concern.

• Provide immediate guidance or intervention if possible.
  
  

• Step 3: If the OM cannot resolve it, the OM escalates to Leadership (VLAD) with all context documented.

• Include: a summary of what happened, who’s involved, steps already taken, and any recommendations.
  
  

B. Leadership Team:

If the situation involves anyone from leadership, the same process applies:

• Step 1: If a situation becomes tense or uncomfortable, pause and document what happened (who, when, brief summary).

• Step 2: Go to LT POC  (Vicki) for de-escalation for support.

• POC will:

• Listen without judgment.

• Ask clarifying questions (e.g., “What triggered the escalation?”, “How did you respond?”).

• Identify if it’s a miscommunication, process issue, or behavioral concern.

• Provide immediate guidance or intervention if possible.

• Step 3: If the POC cannot resolve it, the POC escalates to Vlad with all context documented.

• Include: a summary of what happened, who’s involved, steps already taken, and any recommendations.
  
  

C. If an escalation involves or is between leadership members:

• The uninvolved leader (ex. Vicki) acts as the neutral mediator.

• If the issue involves both, it will be escalated to Vlad for review and final decision.

• Vlad provides objective guidance and ensures follow-up steps for resolution.

ll. Accountability & Documentation

• Each escalation will be logged (short summary only) for tracking patterns or repeat issues.

• Focus will remain on growth, communication improvement, and emotional intelligence, not blame.

• Leadership will review recurring issues quarterly to identify training or process improvements.

• After each escalation, the responsible OM or leader checks back with those involved within 1 week to ensure it’s been fully addressed.

• If patterns are noticed, leadership will discuss preventive actions during the next team sync or deep dive.