In today’s episode, we tackle the world of high stakes hostage negotiation in a divided world with Scott Walker. Scott is one of the world’s most experienced kidnapped-for-ransom negotiators. He served 16 years as a Scotland Yard detective specializing in covert policing, then supported organizations, governments, and private individuals in negotiating the release of hostages all over the world, and is the author of his the latest book, Order Out of Chaos: A Kidnap Negotiator's Guide to Influence and Persuasion.

You’re going to learn how to prepare for high stakes situations like a hostage negotiator. We discuss how to quickly build rapport with people that you do not share common interests with, what to listen for in negotiations to create a winning outcome, how to develop your emotional intelligence to be successful under stress, and the secrets hostage negotiators use to bring back hostages safely.

What to Listen For

• Introduction – 0:00
• How frequently do people get kidnapped and held for ransom?
• What are the biggest challenges that hostage negotiators face?

• The first 30 seconds of a hostage situation are crucial for this reason – 15:53
• What secret do hostage negotiators use to rapidly build trust with anyone?
• What 30 second practice do hostage negotiators use to prepare themselves for every high stakes situation?

• What consequences do kidnappers actually face? – 24:25
• How do you cultivate the right mindset to be a master negotiator?
• What can you do to predict the biggest hurdles you’ll need to overcome in any negotiation?
• What are the 3 elements to every negotiation and how can you use them in your everyday life to build strong relationships?

• Most people mistakenly think this is when the negotiation ends – 39:34
• How should you think about negotiations on a short- and long-term basis to make sure you don’t hurt your reputation or future potential opportunities?

• Hostage negotiators have to care about the kidnappers – 48:36
• How do hostage negotiators raise their self awareness before entering high stakes situations?
• How do you master your emotions like a hostage negotiator by simply asking yourself specific questions?
• What are the biggest takeaways from Order Out of Chaos: A Kidnap Negotiator's Guide to Influence and Persuasion?

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