Chris Voss

Master Negotiation in Business and Life

I heard about today’s guest because he recently came out with a new book about negotiation.

If you’re any kind of business person, you know the importance of this skill.

I thought I was a pretty good negotiator already, but I wanted to learn more.

So I invited Chris Voss to come by the studio for an interview.

Little did I know how much I would learn.

Within the first 15 minutes, Chris and I were role-playing as if a real-life hostage scenario was happening and he was the bad guy.

That was just the beginning.

I couldn’t stop asking Chris questions because I was learning so much and the information was so powerful.

Chris is not just an author.

He worked in the FBI (and the police force) for over 20 years as a top hostage negotiator, working over 150 kidnappings, to say the least.

Now he runs a top consulting company and teaches negotiation to graduate students at universities like Harvard and Georgetown.

I guarantee you’ll learn something valuable within the first ten minutes of listening to this interview.

Get ready to take lots of notes in Episode 379 with Chris Voss.

What are the traits that make a good negotiator? (29:58)
Who are the most difficult people to negotiate with? (32:04)
How long should you wait to consider a deal? (33:50)
How do men and women compare as negotiators? (38:03)
What is the difference between sympathy and empathy? (42:51)
How do you become the smartest person in the room? (56:47)
What’s the worst thing to say in a negotiation? (1:00:06)

Why appearing powerless in a negotiation means you’re in power (6:21)
The phrase to look out for in a negotiation (10:20)
Why being nice in negotiations gives you power (15:09)
The bank robber role play Chris and I go through (and his critique of how I do) (18:41)
The secret to getting the upper hand in a negotiation (22:46)
How to tell if someone is a control freak (23:07)
How to negotiate with an alpha personality (25:56)
Why emotional currency is so valuable (28:07)
How to trigger someone to give you the information you want (34:50)
Why you shouldn’t ask “why” questions (36:21)
The most powerful way to say “no” (39:42)
Why identifying a negative diminishes it (44:39)
Why you want the other side to feel like they won when the deal is settled (1:02:10)
The 3 types of yeses (1:02:53)
My personal favorite line to get an upgrade (1:05:42)
Plus much more…