As an FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss persuaded terrorists, bank robbers, and kidnappers to see things his way. Now he’s teaching you his field-tested strategies to help you in everyday negotiations, whether you’re aiming to improve your salary, the service you receive, or your relationships. Get stronger communication skills, game-changing insights into human nature, and more of what you want out of life.
Overview
Syllabus
- Tactical Empathy
- Meet your new instructor: former FBI lead international kidnapping negotiator Chris Voss. While many believe that negotiation is a battle, Chris sees successful negotiation as a collaboration rooted in empathy.
- Mirroring
- Mirroring is one of the most simple yet effective techniques in any negotiator’s repertoire. Through simple repetition, Chris demonstrates how you can gather vital information in a negotiation and put your counterpart at ease.
- Labeling
- Learn how you can use labels—verbal observations of feelings—to neutralize negative emotions in a negotiation or reinforce positive ones to create a better deal.
- Exercise: Mirroring and Labeling
- How does a conversation about escape room games lead to deep insights into someone’s character? Chris demonstrates how by using two key negotiation techniques: mirroring and labeling.
- Mastering Delivery
- The way you say something during a negotiation is as important as the words you choose. Chris explores how you can use tone and inflection to your advantage and shares his top tips for online communication.
- Case Study: Chase Manhattan Bank Robbery
- In 1993, two men held three employees hostage at a Chase Manhattan Bank in Brooklyn. Hear Chris’s techniques in action as he shares for the first time the tape recordings of his phone calls with the kidnappers.
- Body Language & Speech Patterns
- How people behave and how they say things can be much more insightful in a negotiation than what they say. This lesson is about looking beyond the surface and distinguishing truth from fiction.
- Creating the Illusion of Control
- Who has more control in a negotiation: the person who’s talking or the person who’s listening? Chris lets you in on the secret to gaining the upper hand in a negotiation and explains how you can shift the power dynamic to your advantage.
- Mock Negotiation: Teenager
- Chris plays the part of a father whose teenage daughter wants to spend the weekend with her boyfriend at his parents’ vacation home; he doesn’t trust the boyfriend. Chris demonstrates techniques to get his “daughter” on his side.
- The Accusations Audit
- There are often a lot of feelings in the room when a negotiation starts. Chris teaches you how to use an accusations audit as a means of identifying these feelings and turning negatives into positives.
- The Value of "No"
- Most people think the most important word in a negotiation is “yes.” In fact, the opposite is true. Chris tells you why “no” can be the pivotal word that gets you to your desired outcome.
- Mock Negotiation: Rival
- The hardest thing to reconcile in a negotiation is opposing views. Chris shows you how to handle competing agendas without alienating the other side.
- Bending Reality
- A negotiation can succeed or fail depending on how you frame your case. Chris walks you through the subtle art of perspective and how to understand a counterpart’s key emotional drivers in order to make a compelling case.
- Bargaining
- Hard bargaining doesn’t have to mean taking a sledgehammer approach. Chris teaches you how to bargain with skill, diplomacy, and tact.
- Mock Negotiation: Salary
- Chris demonstrates how to negotiate effectively for a pay increase. Learn why he doesn’t focus the conversation on money.
- Black Swans
- Black swans are game-changing pieces of information that you don’t know when entering a negotiation. Chris walks you through an FBI case where uncovering a black swan led to a breakthrough.
- Mock Negotiation: “60 Seconds or She Dies”
- An armed bank robber is barricaded in a bank with one female hostage. He wants a car in “60 seconds or she dies.” Watch as Chris deals with this tense, high-stakes negotiation where one wrong move can lead to a deadly outcome.
- The Power of Negotiation
- Chris’s motivation for teaching negotiation is deeply personal. Discover why Chris believes negotiation is a powerful tool that can transform your life.
Taught by
Chris Voss
