Staying calm under pressure is a rare yet essential skill. As a security officer at an automotive manufacturing plant, I deal with many medical emergencies because the plant is quite dangerous. This has forced me to compose myself under pressure.
One day, I was on patrol and we were notified of a medical emergency in the paint department. I arrived on the scene to find a man holding his profusely bleeding hand above his head. His hand was wrapped in towels and he was holding it above his head to slow the bleeding.
Witnesses on the scene reported that his hand was nearly cut off, though I could not see it because of the towels.
I immediately set down my first aid backpack and put on latex gloves. I notified security dispatch to call an ambulance and send it to Gate 10. That specific gate was the closest entrance on the property to access our location.
My coworker and I loaded the bleeding man onto our security vehicle and drove full speed to Gate 10 where EMS, Fire Rescue, and Police were waiting. On the way, I assisted the man by supporting his arm to ensure his hand remained above his head.
The man was surprisingly calm and told me that he was using an industrial paint scraper to deep clean one of the paint booths. It slipped, and his hand took the beating.
Upon arrival at Gate 10, I assisted the man into the ambulance and my coworker spoke to the police. Shortly after, the security supervisor arrived and I calmly explained the situation. She told me I did a good job.
After EMS, Fire Rescue, and Police cleared the scene, my coworker and I worked to clean the blood off of our vehicle and ourselves. We will never know if the man got to keep his hand.
How Customer Service Taught me to Keep Composure
I often think back to this day and wonder how different the situation would have been if I wasn’t good under pressure. I was never trained to be, I believe I was born this way.
There’s nothing that can truly prepare you to render aid to a severely injured person, or to save someone’s life.
Sure, my private security license requires that I’m certified in CPR and the use of an AED. However, having those certifications doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be calm in a medical emergency.
If I had to attribute any experience to my ability to remain calm under pressure, it would be from my time working in a customer service call center. I often dealt with extremely upset customers and needed to maintain my composure.
To get through those difficult calls, I would remind myself of several things: I’m on the phone with them, and they cannot physically harm me; This situation is only a fraction of my day, and it will be over soon; My job is to help the customer, and to ensure their problems are solved to the best of my ability.
While it is normal for intense situations to be mentally draining, I always kept in mind that it was temporary. Ultimately, the objection was to problem-solve and complete a specific goal. If I did my best, the goal was accomplished.
This same mentality can be applied to customer service, medical emergencies, project deadlines, or public speaking and presentations. Sometimes the only way out is through, but you’ll eventually look back and be proud of what you’ve done.
3 Essential Steps to Keeping Your Composure
Although it is instinctual to me, staying calm under pressure can be methodical.
Here is how I delineate it:
1. Focus on the task, and do not let your mind invent possible negative outcomes.
– Avoid psyching yourself out. If you begin catastrophizing, you will sacrifice your performance. When I have deadlines approaching, panicking about all I have left to do and what if I don’t get it done on time, will just hold me back. Take it one step at a time, and you’ll easily meet the deadline.
2. Know your limits and work around them.
– Everyone has their limits. It does not make you weak or incapable unless you are unable to persevere. For instance, I knew if I saw the patient’s nearly severed hand, I would have struggled to provide aid. The sight of blood did not bother me, but I knew my limits. So I never looked at his hand and was able to do my job.
3. Organization aids in maintaining composure.
– If you are not organized during high-stress situations, you are more likely to panic and make an error. When an angry caller screamed in my ear, the entire interaction would improve if I was organized. Being organized allowed me to work faster and more confidently. Conversely, if I didn’t know how to solve the problem, or what tools would assist in doing so, the customer would pick up on it and become angrier.
The ability to stay calm under pressure has been invaluable throughout my professional and personal life. It is a skill that must be exercised to get it right. Ultimately, it is the skill I have utilized more than any other.
Ves Slone 