The GuardGuides video below uses a fictional training scenario: a security guard arrives to escort an employee out after a termination. The employee is angry about losing a job held for seventeen years. The guard crowds him, points toward the door and tells him to move. Within seconds, the employee has another person to argue with: security.
The assignment stays the same when the scene is replayed. What changes is the guard’s approach, wording and positioning. Those choices cannot guarantee cooperation, but they can avoid adding unnecessary pressure to an already difficult encounter.
Watch: How Security Guards Make Angry People Even Angrier
If the player is unavailable, watch the matching GuardGuides video on YouTube.
Safety first: Use this article alongside your training, lawful post orders and site emergency procedures. It does not authorize physical intervention. De-escalation may fail, so know how to get help and protect yourself if it does. OSHA’s workplace violence fact sheet recommends site-specific prevention planning and training for that possibility.
1. Check the situation before starting the conversation
In the video’s first version, the guard behaves as though the only remaining task is getting the employee through the door. That misses the conditions around the assignment.
Before approaching, use your training to check what is happening, where you can move and how you will request assistance. Confirm the part of the assignment you are actually authorized to carry out. Management handles the employment decision; security should not improvise answers about severance, appeals or access to belongings.
If you lack essential instructions, ask the supervisor. If the situation is already unsafe, prioritize distance and the appropriate response rather than beginning an escort simply because someone requested one.
2. Make your body language match your words
The first guard gets close, crosses his arms and points toward the exit. The replay shows visible hands, a balanced stance and more space. He also avoids physically trapping the employee in the office.
A useful self-check is: Am I communicating a clear instruction, or acting as though I want a confrontation? Watch your tone and gestures as well as your words. CISA’s de-escalation guidance emphasizes calm communication, personal space and avoiding unnecessary touching.
You do not need to copy the other person’s volume or intensity to take the assignment seriously. In this scenario, the calmer guard still explains why he is there.
3. Acknowledge the problem without promising to fix it
The employee says he has lost his job and is worried about his family. The guard’s first response is dismissive: “That’s not my problem. Calm down and leave.” It gives the employee another grievance instead of helping him understand the next step.
The better response in the script is specific and limited:
“I can see you’re upset. I can’t change their decision, but I don’t want to make this any harder for you.”
The guard acknowledges what is happening without claiming to know exactly how the employee feels. He does not debate whether the firing was fair. He also does not promise reinstatement or say everything will be fine.
Use the same approach for the practical concern about belongings. If management must approve their collection, say you can check with management. Do not promise immediate access you cannot provide. An accurate, modest answer is more useful than reassurance you may have to retract a minute later.
4. Give one clear next step
In the unsuccessful scene, instructions become challenges: “You don’t have a choice. Move.” When the employee pushes back, the guard escalates with a threatening remark.
In the replay, the guard explains the escort assignment and directs the conversation toward leaving and checking on belongings. Keep your own wording short, practical and consistent with the site’s approved process. Avoid adding sarcasm, a lecture or a personal argument.
The script allows the employee a moment to agree to walk. That is a scenario choice, not a rule to wait indefinitely. Any time you allow must fit the conditions and your procedures.
5. Preserve space and a way out
The hallway example shows the guard directly in front of the employee with a wall behind him. The problem is easy to miss while concentrating on the conversation: the guard has left himself little room to move.
The script rejects treating twenty-one feet as a universal safe distance. Consider the person’s behavior, the layout, obstacles, possible weapons and your ability to move. Do not let a distance number replace awareness.
CISA advises maintaining distance, avoiding being alone with a potentially violent person and leaving for safety when violence appears imminent. See its de-escalation guidance. Keep reassessing; a position that was workable can change.
6. Know what to do when the person refuses
A refusal does not give you permission to invent an enforcement method. Follow the site’s escalation procedure, involve the supervisor and request appropriate backup. Do not use this article as a reason to put your hands on someone who will not cooperate.
Threats or a suspected weapon change the priority. Disengage when safe, seek a safer position and activate the emergency response. CISA’s reporting guidance directs people to move to safety and contact 911 for direct threats, weapons or imminent violence. Outside the United States, use the local emergency number.
Remaining in an unsafe encounter to prove that your words should work serves no useful purpose. The script is explicit that the professional approach will not work every time.
7. Document the encounter without editorializing
Once immediate safety needs are handled, complete the required notifications and report. Capture the sequence rather than reducing the encounter to “the employee was difficult.” Record:
- What you were assigned to do and who gave the instruction.
- What you directly saw and heard, with exact words only when accurately recalled.
- What you said and did, including requests for assistance.
- Who responded and how the encounter ended.
Separate your observations from information supplied by others. Do not add a motive or diagnosis you cannot establish. For more on structure, wording and observation versus assumption, see the GuardGuides Security Incident Report Writing Reference Guide 2026. Use your employer’s required reporting system.
The practical takeaway
You cannot choose someone else’s reaction. You can avoid crowding, dismissive language, unsupported promises and personal challenges. Keep the next step clear, preserve your ability to leave and recognize when help is needed. That is the difference the GuardGuides scenario asks you to practice.