Dealing with The Public Training

When People Get Weird at Work

Working with the public. Right, let me just tell you about this.

You know that feeling when you wake up and think maybe today will be quiet? Yeah, that never happens. Someone walks in and you can tell from their face it is going to be one of those shifts. The kind where you wonder why you did not just become a librarian or something.

The thing is though, and l worked this out after way too many awkward encounters, dealing with people is not about being fake cheerful all the time. It is about working out what someone actually wants when they say they want something completely different. And trying not to lose your mind when everything falls apart.

What We Actually Teach You

This training... look, it is not one of those "smile and everything will be fine" things. Because honestly, smiling only gets you so far when someone is screaming about parking fees.

Body language stuff (the bits that matter)

Working with the public teaches you fast that people start talking before they say anything. Crossed arms mean they are already annoyed. Avoiding eye contact means they feel awkward asking for help. But what are you doing with your face while this is happening? Sometimes you think you look helpful but actually you look like you would rather be doing literally anything else.

We go through how to seem confident without looking smug. How to be approachable without seeming like you can be walked all over.

Dealing with angry humans

Someone will shout at you. Not your fault, but you are there when their day implodes. Learning to handle that without it ruining your evening - that is what this covers.

Questions that help instead of making it worse. Because asking "what seems to be the problem" when someone is clearly upset just makes everything harder.

Quick rapport building

Some people you get along with straight away. Others need more work. But there are shortcuts to finding something in common that does not feel forced.

Stress management that works

Not meditation or anything like that. Real stuff for when your pulse is racing and you need to think straight while someone is having a go at you.

How to actually end conversations

Trickier than it sounds. How do you finish talking without making them feel dismissed? How do you make sure they walk away feeling heard even if you could not solve everything?

Getting people to work things out themselves

Sometimes the best thing you can do is help someone find their own answer. Ways to do this without sounding like you are being clever or condescending.

Doing more than expected

This is where things get interesting. When someone expects basic help and you give them something thoughtful that shows you were actually listening, not just waiting for them to stop talking.

Good For These People

• Front desk staff who get all the questions
• Shop workers, hotel people, anyone dealing with customers
• Council workers, government office staff
• Hospital workers, bus drivers, call centre teams
• Anyone whose job involves humans being unpredictable

If you work with the public you know already. Every day brings something different. One minute it is easy questions, next minute someone is crying about their parking fine or shouting about waiting times.

Shops, hospitals, council offices, anywhere people go when they need something sorted. This gives you ways to stay calm and professional when things go sideways.

We come to you or you join online sessions. Whatever suits your team.

Want to stop dreading difficult conversations? Get in touch about training for your people or custom sessions.

At Paramount Training we know businesses are all different. Our trainers create sessions that fit your actual problems, not some generic course someone else designed. Tell us what you are dealing with and we will sort something that works.

More details? Ring 1300 810 725 and have a chat about what our IMPACT system does for teams.

This is not another customer service course with role playing and fake scenarios. This is about real situations that happen when real people have real problems and you are the one who has to deal with it.

Because the public can be lovely, impossible, surprising and exhausting. Often in the same five minutes. You need to be ready.