As I have continually said, bad guys are cowards who don’t want attention coming their way.  So one way to shoo these idiots away is to bring attention to yourself- By using your voice!

If you notice someone is following you and you have that feeling or intuition that something strange is happening.  Turn around, look at the person, and remember his or her face.  If the person is still following you and you are not comfortable – respond by using your voice.

Use your voice using three commands -

1. Halt Command – Stop! Hey! Back-Up! Move!  Fire!… These are all halt commands.  The idea with this command is to simply disrupt any persons train of thought.  You want everyone around you to look at you when you say any these commands.  Draw attention to yourself by elevating your voice.  Scream, if you feel that it is necessary!  You may find that this maybe enough to scare someone away – this is great if you feel uncomfortable in the area.

2. Action Command – An action command is any command that asks the someone to give space.  You can say, “Back up 5 steps! Move to behind that car!”  Any of these commands require the person who is making you feel uncomfortable to move.  The main purpose is to keep a person at a certain distance away from you.  For some, it maybe 6 feet, for others, it maybe 10 feet away.  Regardless, use your voice and demand how far you want them away from you.

3. Ask a Question – Ask them anything!  Ask them what they want!  Ask them how you can help them!  Asking a question is only a distraction for you to plan an escape, prepare for a response of an attack, or determine if the person is legit or a threat.  Let them know that you are not weak, you can help if they need help, but the idea is that asking them a questions puts you in the position of power.  Asking them a questions allows time for you to grab a self defense item in your purse while they are answering the question.

Your voice is like a layer or a buffer in your bubble of safety.  It’s very simple, but very effective because you can project confidence simply by going through these steps.  A criminal does not want to attack someone who will talk and using your voice will give the impression that you will.  That’s good for you and bad for them.  Your voice is an important tool in self defense and it is just as big of a deterant as pepper spray.