When the group is spiraling, be the person whose voice gets slower, not faster.

Panic spreads by tempo before it spreads by content. Once a group starts talking over itself, the speed is doing most of the damage, because nobody has room to finish a thought or check whether things are as bad as they sound. One person deliberately slowing down changes the rhythm everyone else is matching. That is a real contribution even when you have nothing clever to add.

Next time a conversation starts accelerating, breathe before you speak and let your sentences run at half the pace of the room. Ask one simple question about what is actually true right now.