Have you ever wondered what goes through the mind of a hostage negotiation expert?

In this episode, we talk with Chris Voss, formally the FBI’s leading international hostage and kidnapping negotiator. Now he spends his time as an author, professor, CEO of the Black Swan Group, and teaching his Masterclass: Teaching the Art of Negotiation which shows others how to apply his learnings from international crises and high-stakes negotiations to the business world. Chris is regarded as one of the most influential negotiators of our time. He wrote the best-selling book, “Never Split the Difference,” which lays out actionable negotiation strategies and is known as the bible of negotiation. Chris joins us on YAP today to teach us how to negotiate as if our lives depended on it and become more persuasive in both our professional and personal lives.

Chris started off as an FBI agent but, due to a knee injury, he switched his profession over to hostage negotiation. Little did he know that, what he thought was an unfortunate accident, actually allowed him to begin his career as one of the leading hostage and kidnapping negotiators. Over the years Chris has collected first-hand negotiating experience with the FBI as a member of the New York City Joint Terrorist Task Force, a representative for the National Security Council’s Hostage Working Group, and as a Managing Director of the Kidnapping Resolution Practice for Inside Security. He now shares all of his knowledge through his writing, speaking, and his masterclasses.

In today’s episode, Chris shares his knowledge with the YAP podcast. He tells us about his journey from FBI agent to hostage negotiation and what specific negotiation tactics he uses and why they have been so successful. Chris covers the reason why giving someone a chance to start with saying “no” can be more useful than getting them to start with saying “yes”. We learn about the neuroscience behind why tactical empathy is the best way to diffuse a situation and get someone to say the magic phrase, “that’s right!” Chris teaches his 7, 38, 55 body language method and tells us that people don’t remember what you said, they remember how they felt. If you are looking to learn how to negotiate your way through any situation, you don’t want to miss this episode!