Style Under Stress

When conversations get high-stakes, most of us leave dialogue. Find out how — and what to do about it.

Silence — withholding

Verbal violence — forcing

Under stress, we leave dialogue in one of two directions — silence (masking, avoiding, withdrawing) or verbal violence (controlling, labeling, attacking). This assessment shows you which way you go, and gives you strategies to stay in the conversation instead.

Style Under Stress 1 / 12

Silence pattern

Question 1

True

This sounds like me

False

This doesn't fit

One quick question

This is completely optional and anonymous. It helps us understand patterns across different groups.

How do you identify? (optional)

No name, email, or identifying information is collected. Responses are fully anonymous.

Your Results

Your Style Under Stress

Here's what your answers reveal — and where to focus your growth.

Where you land on the spectrum

Silence In dialogue Verbal violence

Your pattern by domain

Silence — 0 / 6

Masking

Avoiding

Withdrawing

Verbal Violence — 0 / 6

Controlling

Labeling

Attacking

Your pattern

What to do about it

Your highest-scoring domains are highlighted and expanded below — start there. Each one includes how the pattern shows up in real conversations, plus three specific strategies you can use the next time you feel it triggering.

Keep in mind

Your score reflects a pattern with one specific person or situation — not who you are across the board. Most people score differently with different people. What matters isn't the number; it's noticing the signal early enough to make a different choice.