WEBVTT

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You’re a leader within your organization.

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Others look to you as a mentor
and guide day to day…

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and especially in times of need.

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One of the times you may be asked to
lead is when the unthinkable happens.

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The preparation you take now – and the
steps you help others around you take –

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will help increase the chances of
prevailing during an active shooter situation.

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No one likes to think
about something like this.

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And it may feel like something
you would never need to face.

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And, hopefully, you’re right.

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But terrible events like this are
happening more often and in more places.

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It may help you to think of
preparing for an active shooter event

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in the same way that you
prepare your team for a fire,

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an earthquake or tornado.

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By taking a few minutes to train
your team for one of these events,

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you help them know what to do

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in the very unlikely event
that it actually happens.

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The exact same thing holds true when
preparing for an active shooter event.

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Here’s one thing we know,

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in the absence of direction
people will SELF DIRECT!

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“Self-Direction” for the untrained person

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during a crisis looks like PANIC and CHAOS!

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Obviously, we’re talking
about a different dynamic.

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A shooter who is actively trying
to hurt you and those around you

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is different than a natural disaster.

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You may even find that because of this
difference – that component of terror…

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…some in your organization may
be resistant to preparing for it.

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This is a time when “the
unthinkable” actually becomes just that –

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people don’t want to
seriously consider the fact…

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…that a shooting could
happen within their walls.

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And that’s exactly why
preparing is so important.

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Some have argued that preparing
for a shooting isn’t necessary –

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that should be left to each
individual’s instincts and reflexes to take over –

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that, somehow, people who are
paralyzed by fear will, in the moment,

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know exactly what to do
and when to do it.

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That, of course, is simply not true.

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If we were to follow that
misguided way of thinking,

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companies wouldn’t mark fire exits,

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they wouldn’t identify
tornado shelter areas

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and they wouldn’t have
practice events to make sure employees

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know what to do when those events occur.

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It has been proven many times over

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that people MUST have a plan
to respond should a shooting occur.

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In most cases where no plan or
training has been put into place…

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people faced with a shooter
situation simply freeze.

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They’ll feel powerless.

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Many will give up, give in, beg for mercy –

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and in turn, simply die
at the hands of a shooter

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who cares nothing for them, their
fears, their pleas or their lives.

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As we’ve shown in our
other videos, thoughtful,

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strategic and coordinated
action is the only way –

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in fact it’s the only hope –

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to prevail when a shooter
enters your midst.

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Do nothing and you will most likely die.

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Take appropriate action – an urgent
response mentality – you can prevail.

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Let’s take a closer look at what
happens during an “UNTRAINED RESPONSE” -

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when no preparation is in place and
contrast it with what can happen

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in a “TRAINED RESPONSE”
situation – when there IS a plan in place.

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A shooter, or person who enters
your organization to do harm,

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causes a natural sense of startle and fear.

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Again, this is a purely natural response.

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Feeling fear, shock and other
deep emotions is normal.

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There’s just no getting around it.

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The key is to take action that
overrides our natural human instincts.

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In an “UNTRAINED RESPONSE,”
here’s what happens.

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First, there’s a natural normalcy bias.

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Disbelief and denial set in –

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almost as if our brain is protecting
us by temporarily shielding us

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from the terrorizing possibility
of what is happening.

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As this sense of denial passes,
it is quickly replaced by panic.

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During this time, the natural response is

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to feel that sense of
powerlessness or helplessness.

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As you will see a bit later, there is
a way to overcome this natural fear.

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With a “TRAINED RESPONSE,” that
same sense of startle and fear sets in.

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But again, these are natural, initial
responses that happen by themselves.

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Those who are trained
are able to get past those

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crucial initial moments of
denial and disbelief – faster.

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Because of training,
they work through crisis acceptance.

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That means that – due to preparation –
they have intellectually accepted

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and prepared on some level
for this event to have occurred.

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By preparing, these people have a
heightened sense of awareness

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and are in a position to be proactive.

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These are the crucial moments.

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A shooter only has a small window of
time to kill as many people as possible.

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During this urgent time,
the faster you and those around you

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get past denial and into action,
the better your chances are of prevailing.

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Those who are prepared almost
immediately begin to recall their training

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which helps them to overcome their
fear and possible panic state.

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One of the key areas of
preparation is that those

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who are trained feel
the need for an urgent response.

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And, in turn, they
understand what must happen.

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They have a commitment to action.

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Denial, fear, and panic
vs. commitment to action.

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See the difference in behaviors
between the trained and untrained?

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Now, let’s talk about our three key
actions during an active shooter event –

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and how you and
your team members can practice

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and prepare for what you
would do in the face of terror.

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As a quick review, these three actions are:

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LOCK OUT.

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If you’re in an area where
you can lock a heavy door

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or barricade an opening, you can prevail.

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A shooter will not waste his time
trying to force his way into a locked

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or blocked area if he has another
open path to destruction to take.

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GET OUT.

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Go away from the danger whenever possible.

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If you can safely escape, you and those
around you should leave the premises

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and only when at a safe
distance, call 911 for help.

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TAKE OUT.

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If you and those around
you are cornered, take action.

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Shelter the best you can where you are,

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and then coordinate action
at a predetermined time.

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When someone yells “Now,” throw
everything you have at the shooter -

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immediately swarming to subdue him or her.

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So, how do we apply those actions?

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The best way is to start where you and
your team are the majority of each day.

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Look at where you and your team sits;

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even how the office furniture is arranged;

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then go through each of
the three OUT actions.

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Discuss your options with your team.

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For example, if you’re
like many organizations,

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you may sit in a relatively open area
with a group of office spaces or cubes.

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In this case, your first
GET OUT action may involve

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you searching for a nearby emergency exit.

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Is there a door nearby?

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Is there a ground level window?

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If there’s a window,
what would it take to get out?

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Does the window open? If not, can
it be broken out with a chair?

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Now to LOCK OUT. If you’re in
that typical office cube environment,

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there is no “door” to use
to lock the threat out.

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But is there a nearby conference room
with solid walls and a door that locks?

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Or is there another secure,
relatively close area

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like a walk-in safe or
storage area you could use?

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And then with the TAKE OUT action,

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you’ll want to openly discuss
the options with your team.

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If you’re in an open area with
no way to GET OUT or LOCK OUT,

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this will be your action.

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Talk about the best place
to take temporary shelter

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until the shooter enters your space.

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Then identify what will happen.

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Walk through the event.

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Pretend that a shooter
has entered your area.

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Where would you stay out of sight
for a few crucial moments?

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What could you grab to use as a
projectile or striking object?

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Then prepare a signal like
“Now!” that would be used for everyone –

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that moment when everyone throws
anything they can at the attacker

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and rushes him or her
in one, unified moment.

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Next, ask your employees
to apply these three actions

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to the various areas around the
office where they typically spend time.

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Ask them to consider what they would
do if they were on a different floor.

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What if they were in the
cafeteria or breakroom?

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Or what if they were in a
conference room inside the main entrance,

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or walking down a long hallway?

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In short, you and your team can get into
a habit of mentally thinking through

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what you’d do to take action no
matter where you are – at work, at home,

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at the mall or any place else, by
simply asking yourself three questions:

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One, how could I LOCK OUT this area?

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Two, how can I GET OUT of this area?

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And three, what do I have
available on my person

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or around me that I can TAKE OUT with?

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Within a few seconds, each of us
can evaluate our surroundings

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and mentally prepare.

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Now, once that’s done,
we can store that information away

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and enjoy the real purpose
of being in a given space.

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That brings us to another important point.
It’s about awareness.

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Much of our ability to
prevail in a shooting event

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comes down to basic awareness
of what’s happening around us.

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Now, that may sound really
basic and it can be.

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However, think about your phone and the
other electronic devices around you.

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How often are you on your
computer, your tablet or your phone?

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In our mobile lives, we are VERY
plugged into this virtual world

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and simultaneously we can be very
UNPLUGGED from the real world around us.

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Obviously, there are times when
we may be wearing headphones

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and unable to hear our surroundings.

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Or we may be fully immersed in a
report that must be written –

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all of those times when
we’re racing the clock

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and channeling our senses
toward the task at hand.

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During those moments,
try to keep a general awareness

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of what’s going on around you.

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For example, if you’re using headphones,

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can you position yourself so
you are aware of other people?

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That way, if they react,
you’ll still have a visual warning.

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Again, anything you can do to keep your
radar up for the unexpected will help.

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We’re not saying you need to
constantly watch out for a shooting,

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but pay attention to visual signs

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or audible sounds that are
out of the ordinary.

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It’s really just a matter of being aware

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for anything that may need your attention.

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You’ve watched movies,
when you know when the main character

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has what’s called that “gut feeling” –

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that ability to know
something is about to happen –

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that heightened awareness
to things that are unusual.

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By keeping some of your senses
available to pick up on strange sounds

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or unusual reactions or
body language from those around you,

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you can maximize YOUR “gut
feeling” when needed in crucial moments.

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The key here is to understand the
value of timing and proper response.

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Finding out about a situation too
late and taking the right action

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at the wrong time
is still the WRONG ACTION.

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Ensuring that some of your senses
are available to alert you

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will help you be prepared
for the RIGHT ACTION.

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Again, none of us like
to think about what we would do

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if a shooting or terrible event
happened in the place where we work.

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But you’re a leader.

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You can help those around you
understand the value of preparation –

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the same kind of preparation you use
for fires, earthquakes and tornados.

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With this in mind, set up formal training.

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Actively discuss the three key
actions with those in your area

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and across your organization.

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Walk through the specific things you
would do, when you would do them,

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and the things that may happen to
cause you to change your plans.

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When you take these steps
to prepare with your team,

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you not only give them
the tools they need to be ready,

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but you also help reduce the
increasing level of stress and anxiety

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they’re feeling due to the
increase in worldwide shooting incidents.

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You’re doing what you can
to help your team.

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So… practice and prepare to prevail!