When Client sessions go bad.
Over the years working in this, quite frankly, weird job of mine, I’ve worked with quite a few different types of people.
Two of which that stick out are professional fighters and [very] powerful business people.
Neither group of people is used to being provoked or challenged, be it playfully or directly. There is definitely an art to using provocation strategically. With Fighters, a solid rapport is required, and, if you miss your mark, it may be the only thing that saves one from a good drubbing. Or at least it used to be that way. Since learning that there are other way to provoke powerful responses in people other than the alpha-male bull in a china shop approach, things have got easier. More on that in a moment.
But let the record reflect that I have at least built a plan ‘B’ ~ to run over to the corner of the room and wielding the guitar [I cannot play] as some sort of rudimentary cudgel.
Thankfully it never came to this.
With High powered business professionals it used to be a very different. Never was the threat of physical violence an issue [I think all active martial artists automatically ‘size up’ people].
No, this was more of a case of High Status individuals, that seemingly automatically command respect. When I look back to my old way of provocation with these types, I recall that, although my arms may have been full of gesture and flailing wildly, the trunk and legs of my body would be shrunk and tucked away like some sort of goddam ‘cowardy custard’! For anyone that knows body language they’d spot someone disguising their intimidation.
Provocative Change Works developer Nick Kemp
Thankfully I found a new way of dealing with situations like this about ten years ago in the Provocative Therapy, and since Nick Kemp’s excellent Provocative Change Works [PCW] approach and chose to study this. This method, put simply, delivers the provocation payload via humour, being in the moment, as well as talking to the client as if they were a friend you’d known years.
I can confidently inform you that the structured approach of [PCW] is what has saved my skin [with Fighters] and allow me to *really* challenge those High Powered individual corporate hotshots with an ease and silky confidence.