Episode 19: Former FBI Lead International Kidnapping Negotiator Chris Voss

The Power of Bold

Adam Pascarella interviews Chris Voss, the former lead international kidnapping negotiator at the FBI and author of the bestselling book Never Split The Difference. The episode begins with Voss explaining how he joined the FBI and became the agency’s lead international kidnapping negotiator (02:07 – 08:10). Adam and Chris then discuss the importance of emotion in every negotiation (08:11 – 14:07) and why Oprah Winfrey is one of the world’s best negotiators (14:08 – 18:26). The discussion then turns to Chris’s book, specifically the similarities between hostage negotiations and office negotiations (18:27 – 22:42) and how emphasizing loss can have a tremendous impact on negotiations (22:43 – 30:21). Chris then discusses the power of “No” (30:22 – 33:29), why many people don’t like negotiating (33:30 – 36:32) and why “That’s right” and “How do you want me to do this?” are extremely powerful phrases in every negotiation (36:33 – 40:54). The episode concludes with Chris providing tips on how all of us can start becoming better negotiators today (40:55 – 45:56). For show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit www.thepowerofbold.com.