Free test · 8 questions · 1 minute

What's your street smarts type?

8 everyday situations: a spilled drink, a walk home, a shouting driver. Pick what you'd really do. You get your type and three first steps for avoiding trouble. No sign-up, and your answers never leave your browser.

1. Someone bumps into you and spills your drink.

2. Walking home at night, you usually...

3. When you walk into a busy bar, you...

4. A stranger insults you as you walk past.

5. When do you usually leave a night out?

6. Your friend wants to square up to someone.

7. Walking away from an argument feels like...

8. A driver shouts at you at the traffic lights.

Your result

    Want the full plan? The full avoidance-first method, from reading places and people to the de-escalation script and the 30-day plan, is in How to Never Get Punched in the Face.

    See How to Never Get Punched in the Face

    How do you avoid getting into a fight?

    Most of it happens before anything starts: check your own mood and drinking, avoid crowded places at closing time, notice the exits, apologise for bumps even when they weren't your fault, and leave early when the mood in a place changes.

    How do you calm down an angry person?

    Keep your distance, hands open and voice calm. Agree where you can, apologise, lower the stakes and give them an easy way to feel they won. Then leave. If words stop working, walk away and get help from staff or the police.

    Is walking away from a fight weak?

    No. Walking away is how most people avoid injury, legal trouble and a ruined night. Someone else's opinion of you costs nothing; a fight can cost a lot.