Book Bearings
Never Split the Difference
- 288 pages · about 5 hours
- First published 2016
- 10 editions
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1 About this book
Never Split the Difference is a guide to negotiation by Chris Voss, written with Tahl Raz. Voss was a Kansas City police officer and then spent years with the FBI, where he became its lead international kidnapping negotiator, before teaching negotiation in business schools. He argues that negotiation is driven by emotion more than by logic, and that splitting the difference often serves no one. The chapters draw on cases from his career, from bank robberies to kidnappings abroad, and each teaches a technique: mirroring the other side's words, labeling their feelings, welcoming a no before pushing for a yes, asking questions that give the other side a sense of control, and looking for the hidden facts he calls black swans.
- Psychology
- Biography
- Business & economics
- Negotiation
- Business communication
- Business
- Communication
- Persuasion (Psychology)
2 What to expect
A negotiation handbook by a former FBI hostage negotiator, who argues that emotion, not logic, decides most deals. Each chapter pairs a tense story from his cases with a technique, such as mirroring, labeling feelings and asking open questions, then applies it to salaries, sales and everyday bargaining. It is fast, confident and practical, and the hostage stories make it livelier than most business books.
Good for readers who want: negotiation skills, real hostage cases, and practical advice for work and daily life.
3 About Chris Voss
Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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