November 2014
First Contact
Sharon was hired as a security officer in an urban hospital, and was trained in verbal de-escalation for the first time. They applied these skills with patients, families, and staff in a variety of extremely stressful situations, and developed an array of personal techniques to better connect with people under stress.
May 2017
Learning to Teach
Given the opportunity to become a trainer for a verbal de-escalation program, Sharon jumped on it, and began teaching regular classes to hospital staff. They were exposed to a new set of problems, and crafted solutions for the specific problems that staff brought forward for discussion, deepening their understanding, and expertise.
March 2019
Improving the Process
The existing verbal de-escalation programs did not come with a combination of flexibility and actionable solutions that Sharon felt was necessary to make them truly accessible. So they began researching conflict, emotional escalation, negotiation, therapeutic techniques, and developing curricula to teach skills tailored to the situations faced by staff.
August 2025
Setting Out
Sharon formed Talk Steady, LLC, with the goal of bringing accessible de-escalation, conflict resolution, and communication skills to folks for whom a large program is either not suited to their needs, or out of their budget. We will work with you to honor your time and your staff, and develop a bespoke program that works for you and your team, with no fluff included.
Empowering You
At Talk Steady, we want to take the skills you already have, the environment you already know, and the needs you are already aware of, to formulate a program of individual modules that meet your needs precisely. If that means we have to research and create something new, we will work with you to bring your team high-quality, evidence-based education that is applicable, and affordable.
We want to see you and your team successfully learn and use your new skills, and refine your approach to conflict. We offer optional continuing support after classes to provide after-incident analysis, help you develop plans for improvement, and reinforce techniques, so that your team can approach conflict confidently, respectfully, and safely.
We do not sell. If we don’t hear from you for awhile, we will reach out one (1) time; no guilt, no shame, no pressure. If you circle back to us in the future, we would be delighted to talk more! In the meantime, you’re busy, and we respect your time.
Questions? Feel free to reach out and see how Talk Steady can work for you.