Giving three options works wonders.
Let's assume your airline flight has been delayed and you finally get to your hotel room at midnight. The hotel clerk informs you that your hotel room has been given to another guest.
Your response is that the hotel has at least three options: (1) give you one of the suites they reserve for their special guests at the rate originally given you, (2) their paying for the transportation AND room charges for another hotel which they arrange, or (3) their calling the general manager of the hotel. The result: You will be given one of the hotel's special room for the amount of your original reservation.
The same approach of giving three options can be used with anyone and in any situation. Of course, it takes practice. The way to do it is to regularly ask yourself, "What three options can I present in this situation?"
Here is how it can be applied with a student in a classroom who continually misbehaves: You have three options: (1) explaining to your parent over the phone what you have done, (2) having your parent come to school for a conference, or (3) developing a procedure to be in control so the next time you get that same urge, you wont be a victim of your impulses.
Offering choices is one of the three critical practices of the Discipline Without Stress Teaching Model at MarvinMarshall.com.
