Degrees of Health
Scott Walker | Life Lessons from a Kidnap Negotiator - Knowing What People Really Want
What do crisis negotiations, hostage rescues, and your everyday conversations have in common? More than you think.
Former Scotland Yard detective, military intelligence operator, and globally recognised negotiation expert Scott Walker offers a masterclass in the art of influence, communication, and emotional self-regulation. Scott shares the tools he’s developed through decades of real-world experience - techniques that help us stay calm under pressure, navigate conflict with confidence, and bring more agency into how we show up in our life. These principles have been honed with elite teams under the most intense, high-stakes situations - this isn’t just about negotiation - it’s about living intentionally, leading with humility, and learning to choose your response, no matter what’s happening around you.
We cover:
🧠 The power of emotional regulation - pause, reset, choose
🎯 Preparation for conversation - what are the 5 most likely challenges? And how will you handle them?
🧍♂️ Agency - taking part in your own rescue, not outsourcing responsibility
💬 Conversation types - do you want to be helped, heard or hugged?
🤝 Empathy & influence - how to genuinely understand someone else before making your point
🪞 Biases, blindspots & humility - how status and identity shape conflict
🔁 Everyday negotiation - because we’re all in conversations with purpose
No esoteric, abstract theory here - it's a practical deep dive into how we can use communication as a tool for resolution, for growth, for leadership, and for health.
Find Scott:
Course - Thrive Under Pressure
Book - Order Out Of Chaos
Book - Eye of the Storm - Scott Walker. Available for Pre-Order, Release 20th May 2025.
Mentioned in this episode:
Book - The Wisdom of Psychopaths by Kevin Dutton
Book - Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg
Book - Taken on Trust by Terry Waite
Book - Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
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