Confrontational situations can be inevitable, but there are actions you can take to reduce the risks they carry with them. It is important that you get to know the individuals you work with. Once you get to know them better, you’ll be able to recognise what triggers their distress. This means you can assess potential risks and take steps to avoid them to prevent a confrontation.
You also should not get emotionally involved. Instead you should keep a clear head and look for body language and reactions that might signal a possible confrontation. If you can sense a possible confrontation, you should do your best to prevent factors that could cause one from distressing the individual further.
Sometimes however, the best action is to simply leave the individual alone. If you feel that a one-to-one situation between yourself and the individual might develop into a confrontation, you should leave the scene so that they have time to calm down.
However, you should keep in mind that not all individuals are the same, and depending on the individual, there might be different risks to identify and assess. Therefore, getting to know the individual is still the best thing you can do to prevent or reduce the effects of a potential confrontation.