Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

A bank robber holding hostages will not meet you halfway, and former FBI kidnapping negotiator Chris Voss learned that splitting the difference can be fatal. His question is how to reach a deal when reason and compromise fail. The answer begins with tactical empathy: mirror the other side by repeating their last three words to make them talk, and name their emotion with It seems like you feel cornered. He shows how a no reveals objections, how that's right creates breakthrough, and how calibrated questions like How am I supposed to do that shift the burden of solving. For money he gives the Ackerman system of offers at 65, 85, 95 and 100 percent. You come away able to hear feelings behind demands and use them to move any talk.