Growing up, do you remember Mom saying “Look both ways when you cross the street and honey, don’t talk to strangers.” Here you are years later talking to strangers every day and even going into vacant houses with them all alone. Lets pretend I’m your Mom for a second, “Honey, if you must talk to strangers use as much caution as possible and be ready to gouge their eyes out of their heads, dear.”

Gary Locke, Governor of the state of Washington proclaimed January 28 through February 3rd, 2002 as Real Estate Safety Awareness Week in Washington. His quote “Nationally 21 real estate professionals died last year due to violent assaults, and everyday, real estate people work in potentially dangerous situations” certainly gave me chills when I first read it. Real estate professionals are in the same position as cab drivers and late night store clerks in the sense that they have to deal with the public in potentially isolated and vulnerable situations.

Self-defense is necessary. You have been taught all of your life not to hurt another human being and that’s a good thing. But sometimes, you might have to. There are times in life when inflicting bodily pain on another is not only necessary, but also your immediate responsibility as a member of society. Additionally, what good are you to your family injured in a hospital bed, emotionally crippled, or dead. So it is your responsibility to protect yourself.

We are taught all of our lives to be kind to one another and have manners. This is called ‘civilized conditioning.’ Civilized conditioning is why we don’t walk around smacking each other, or why we don’t just walk up to someone and kill them. However, you know this still happens every day. There are some people out there who are considered mentally ill or uncivilized. Unfortunately this civilized conditioning is what prevents people from protecting themselves and further prevents them from hitting another human.

Civilized conditioning is also responsible for making a person freeze up, stop breathing and panicking when someone attacks them. Sometimes, civilized conditioning can be overcome by a stronger instinct. If someone walks up to your child and starts hitting them, you would attack them like a bear protecting her cubs. Why? The parental instinct to protect their children never goes away. You do have the ability to overcome civilized conditioning - you just have to know how to tap into it when it comes to protecting yourself. Here are two ways:

Visualization

You must actively visualize in your minds eye the possibilities of being attacked. This does not make you paranoid - it makes you prepared. Visualize an attack and see yourself defeating your attacker. Visualization prepares your mind/body to physically and emotionally prepare for an attack.

Verbal defense

Screaming is a fundamental defense. It brings oxygen to your body, fueling your blood and allowing your adrenaline to be evenly dispersed through your body.

Screaming certain words helps, but others may work against you. Words like ‘Help’ and ‘Rape’ add fuel to your attacker's fire. ‘911’and ‘Fire’ might bring attention to the situation, but do nothing to stop your attacker.

"No!" is a powerful word that stops your attacker for a moment giving you the opportunity to strike them hard and fierce. A loud forceful "NO!" screamed every time you take a breath followed by self-defense techniques is how you survive.

Something else to consider is the use of profanities. Screaming four letter words works hand in hand with angry facial expressions and forceful body language.

Practice these two techniques at an appropriate time and place so that you are more prepared in the event that someone does attempt to harm you.

Published: April 11, 2002

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Robert L. Siciliano is the author of The Safety Minute, Safety Zone Press, and a professional speaker on the topic of self defense and personal and property protection. He has been featured on CNN, Montel Williams, Sally Jesse, and the Howard Stern radio show. Robert is available to speak to brokers, associations, and to conduct seminars and workshops for industry events. Visit his Web site at www.realtysecurity.com or contact him at robert@realtysecurity.com