By the end of this module, you can: introduce the response clearly, reduce communication pressure, listen to the person’s concerns, explain real requirements and choices, adjust the communication method, and decide whether communication is workable enough to continue.
Forming rapport does not mean becoming the person’s friend, gaining agreement, or solving the crisis. It means creating enough trust and clarity for honest communication.
Before moving into Engage and Stabilize, the person should be able to:
understand who is speaking and why;
share relevant information in a usable way;
correct misunderstandings;
understand what must happen and what choices are real;
communicate well enough to take part in the next safe action.
The student believes staff are there to punish them
The scene is safe enough for contact. A student sits at the far end of a lounge with their arms folded and avoids eye contact. They say, “You are all here to get me kicked out.” The assessment identifies severe distress and a required direct safety question, but the student has not answered it. Three staff members are standing nearby.
Why this fits the evidence
The first goal is not agreement. The first goal is to make the contact understandable and less threatening.
Use one primary person to speak. Move unnecessary staff and spectators back, reduce noise, and keep enough distance to avoid crowding the person.
Result: The person is not being surrounded or questioned by several people at once.
Too many voices can feel threatening, confusing, or overwhelming. Other responders can remain available without all participating in the conversation.
2
Orient
Be transparent.
Say who you are, why you are there, what you know, what you do not know, and what needs to happen next.
Result: The person understands the purpose of the contact and is not forced to guess what staff are doing.
Explain any privacy, reporting, or safety limits honestly. Do not hide required actions or pretend a required step is optional.
3
Listen
Listen and acknowledge.
Ask what happened from the person’s point of view, what matters most to them now, and what is making the contact harder.
Result: The person knows they were heard, and you understand the concern or barrier affecting communication.
Acknowledge the experience without confirming something you do not know. “That sounds frightening” is different from “You are right; everyone is targeting you.”
4
Clarify
Explain what must happen and what choices are real.
State the required safety questions or actions plainly. Then explain where the person has a real choice, such as pace, communication method, position, support person, or order of steps.
Result: The person can distinguish a requirement from an available choice.
Do not offer a fake choice. If something is required, say so and explain why. A refusal tells you what the person is declining; it does not automatically prove danger, safety, incapacity, or defiance.
5
Adapt
Adjust how you communicate.
Use shorter statements, one question at a time, more time, written or typed communication, qualified interpretation, communication aids, a quieter location, different distance, or an appropriate trusted person when allowed.
Result: The communication method fits the person well enough to continue.
Change one thing at a time and observe whether it helps. A friend or family member is not automatically an interpreter or decision-maker.
6
Confirm
Confirm that communication is workable.
Ask the person to explain the next step in their own words, answer or clearly decline the needed question, correct your summary, or use another accessible way to show understanding.
Result: You know whether the person can participate in the next action, needs additional support, or requires another response route.
Agreement is not required. The test is whether the person can understand, express, correct, participate, and signal when something changes.
The student explains why staff presence feels threatening
The student says a previous responder discussed private information in front of roommates. They believe the current group will do the same and say, “Nobody here can be trusted.”
Why this fits the evidence
Rapport improves when the person’s concern is acknowledged and the responder remains honest about privacy and reporting limits.
Communication barrier
Spoken questions stop working
The student says, “Too many words,” covers their ears when the hallway becomes noisy, and points to their phone. They can read a short typed message and type a response.
Why this fits the evidence
An adjustment works only when it helps the person understand and participate in the next action.
The person is not being surrounded by several voices or competing requests.
Clear purpose
The person knows who you are, why you are there, and what needs to happen.
Person heard
You understand the person’s concern, priority, or communication barrier.
Honest limits
Required actions, privacy limits, reporting duties, and real choices are clear.
Usable method
The person can communicate through speech, writing, typing, interpretation, or another appropriate method.
Next step understood
The person can explain, answer, decline precisely, correct the summary, or otherwise show what they understand.
Move to Engage and Stabilize when
the person understands the contact, can express relevant information, can correct misunderstandings, knows the real requirements and choices, and can participate enough in the next safe action.
Rework rapport or call for more help when
the person cannot understand the contact, the communication method fails, the environment becomes overwhelming, privacy or trust breaks down, the condition or danger changes, or an urgent decision cannot safely wait.
A student with limited English proficiency appears frightened after a reported assault. Their parent insists on interpreting and says the student does not want police. The student has not personally answered. Qualified interpretation is available by phone. You are a campus responder, not an investigator or confidential advocate.
Why this fits the evidence
Form rapport by speaking to the student directly, using qualified communication support, explaining the limits honestly, and allowing the student to make the choices that are actually theirs.
