Empathy and de-escalation
Calm a frustrated customer by acknowledging the impact, staying factual and moving to a plan.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 30 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Acknowledge the specific impact on the customer
- Avoid phrases that escalate tension
- Move the conversation to a concrete plan
- Know when to involve a supervisor
Course outline
- 1.Lowering the temperatureVideo · 2 min
- 2.Lowering the temperatureLesson · 12 min
- 3.Reading emotion and choosing your wordsLesson · 14 min
- 4.Boundaries, support and recovering after a hard contactLesson · 12 min
- 5.Empathy and de-escalation: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 16 questions
- 6.Angry customer: order missed the openingScenario
- 7.Final exam5 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- General customer-service and support practice (listening, de-escalation, ownership)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.