We all pride ourselves on our ability to make shelter, fire and to find food and water. We stock up and prepare for the worst, just in case. These skills, very valuable, are not utilized often.

We deal with people everyday (most of us anyway) and will have to in a survival situation as well. Whether we are rescuing a stranded motorist (however stupid he may be), diagnosing an ailment, negotiating a trade or defusing a hostile situation, we will have to interface with people. There are very definite, teachable skills for doing this and they are taught to law enforcement and elements of DOD.

I have attended several courses on interviewing, interrogation, verbal communication and nonverbal communication, elicitation and counter-elicitation, and negotiation. I know that these have helped me every day, even in dealing with my kids.

I believe that anyone who deals with people can benefit from these skills, and that they can be considered a survival skill in many situations.

What are your thoughts?