We are surrounded by examples of Red Zones in action. In a Red Zone state, the ability to have some distance from strong emotions diminished. People in this state are less likely to be aware of the implications of the emotion, or indeed to manage the emotion. Often, though not always, Red Zone states are accompanied by anxiety, fear, anger, distress and/or guilt. When Red Zone emotions are expressed, they often have a negative impact on sales, client retention, learning, teaching, relationships and leadership.
This page seeks to show you some of the more common Red Zone phenomena, and what triggers them.
For reference, the most significant triggers to Red Zone activation are confusion or lack of clarity, reduced choice, not being listened to and unfairness. If the urgency of time is added into the picture, often the result is the Red Zone becoming the dominant mind state.
Angry News Reporter
This is a classic case of the Red Zone taking over in stages. Watch as the reporter, who is already likely to be under time pressure and partially in the Red Zone, interacts with her interrupter in increasingly less polite ways.
In her first interaction, in spite of her language being polite, the emotion in her voice is conveying frustration and annoyance. The interruption causes a shift away from the part of the brain she needs to complete the task to the part of the brain that responds to threat. Note how each interruption has her displaying more of her Red Zone, with what you might call an amygdala hijack to finish the clip.
Triggers here are time pressure, unfairness and not being listened to.
Airport Red Zone
Airports are places with many Red Zone opportunities. The anxiety of missing a plane, a lack of clarity and unfairness are often triggers in this environment.
You might need to watch the video below a few ties, first without trying to read the annotations, then pausing and reading to unpack the engagement. The desk attendant, herself perhaps under pressure, allows frustration and judgement to ‘leak’ into what she says, and this progressively ramps up the Red Zone of the passenger.
