A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations--whether in the boardroom or at home. After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI's lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss's head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles, counterintuitive tactics and strategies, you too can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life. Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for: buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, this book gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.

The new rules : how to become the smartest person ... in any room -- Be a mirror : how to quickly establish rapport -- Don't feel their pain, label it : how to create trust with tactical empathy -- Beware "yes", master "no" : how to generate momentum and make it safe to reveal the real stakes -- Trigger the two words that immediately transform any negotiation : how to gain permission to persuade -- Bend their reality : how to shape what is fair -- Create the illusion of control : how to calibrate questions to transform conflict into collaboration -- Guarantee execution : how to spot the liars and ensure follow-through from everyone else -- Bargain hard : how to get your price -- Find the black swan : how to create breakthroughs by revealing the unknown unknowns.