Dr. George Thompson

Manage Bullying is based on the work, between 1983 and his death in 2011, of Dr. George Thompson.

Dr. Thompson received a B.A. from Colgate University (1963) and a Masters and Doctorate in English from the University of Connecticut (1972), and completed post-doctoral work at Princeton University in Rhetoric & Persuasion (1979).

In 1983, after 10 years as a university professor and five years as a part-time police officer, Dr. Thompson formed the Verbal Judo Institute to train police officers how to prevent and de-escalate verbal confrontation, the starting point for almost all physical violence.

During his career, Dr. Thompson trained more than 1 million individuals and published four books, with over 300,000 copies sold. While originally developed for public safety professionals (it is now a required course in many states) his structured communication methodologies have now been taught within business, education, health care, and government organizations and to individuals from all walks of life.

In 2009, he joined forces with Master Chan Lee — owner of JK Lee Black Belt Academy, a martial arts school in Milwaukee, WI with five locations and 1500 students — and Gary T. Klugiewicz — a director at Verbal Defense & Influence, a global training organization focused on maximizing human interaction — to apply his methodologies to the devastating problem of youth bullying.

Dr. Thompson’s work has been widely published in magazines and periodicals. His training has been highlighted by every major network, as well as, 48 Hours, Inside Edition, the Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Sacramento Bee, and other publications.