What Is an Example of Situational Awareness?

A simple example of situational awareness is a receptionist who notices a visitor pacing, muttering and checking the clock.

She recognises that frustration is building and speaks to him calmly before it boils over.

That one moment covers all three levels of situational awareness. She perceives the behaviour, understands what it suggests, and anticipates where it could go.

Other everyday examples:

• A community nurse arriving for a home visit who clocks a dog, an unfamiliar person in the house and the route back to the front door before going further in.
• A bus driver who sees a group getting rowdy at the back and radios ahead early instead of waiting for trouble.
• A security officer at a busy event who spots one person moving against the flow of the crowd.
• A shop worker who notices a customer becoming agitated and steps back so they aren't standing between that person and the exit.

In each case, the person who notices early has more options. Staff without that awareness tend to see the problem only when it is already in front of them, and by then the choices are fewer and riskier.

These skills can be practised, and they run through all of our conflict management training.