Never Split the Difference

Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

By: Chris Voss

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

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' head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: in 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 lives.

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, Never Split the Difference gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.

©2016 Christopher Voss (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Great Bits of Information

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would say that there is a decent amount of information that is presented to the listener of this book.

Any additional comments?

Once you complete the first couple of chapters the book becomes much more interesting. I do like hearing some of the issues the author has dealt with as a hostage negotiator and the lessons learned from his teams mistakes. I also like the lessons he attributes to those who are untrained but he had been mindful enough to pay attention to tactics that would work and find out what the process was that made it work and then employ those tactics. This has great benefit for bargaining deals. I will be using these tactics in various situations but will find it most helpful when buying real estate.

Good ideas & technique, ruined a bit by the reader

Chris Voss reasons out some logical and useful perspective-changing facts, and derives practical tactics them; the book was really good and in this regard.

Unfortunately, the reader often went counter to the author's intended emotion in his narration. Had I not heard Voss relate some of his stores in videos on the internet, I would not have realised that the reader narrated Voss' words in a tone that was the very opposite of that which Voss actually uses and advocates. Often the narrator read Voss' words as hard-ass, when that is not how Voss says them at all.

Because Voss emphasises how voice tone can matter more than word meaning, this was a fault that as a life-and-death hostage negotiator he might correctly call a grave error.

I teach negotiations, and this material is great.

I learned about this book on a podcast, and it intrigued me. It is difficult to find anything new on negotiations. This book delivered. a must listen.

Worth the time

Great techniques, but the presentation is a bit boring. I started using some of these techniques to advance my business deals and manage my clients expectations, but it's too early to tell if they show any positive results.

Brilliant

This book opens your mind to a new way of thinking, that will change your life for the better. the skills are easily understandable and readily applicable. I'm incredibly happy to have stumbled upon this book

have you given up?

I used one of the tricks in the book. have you given up? question and I got a response with in 1 hour when we have been trying to get one for 2 weeks.

Outstanding for life and work

I’ve read many business books in my time, but most do not rise to the level of giving practical, real world advice as this book does. Hands down my favorite book in years. I’ll use his tactics again and again. This won’t be the only time I listen to this book. I look forward to learning from it with every future negotiation I undertake.

Worth every second. Voicing is 10/10.

Really valuable information here. No shallow misinformation, just pure gold flowing into your mind.

And the Michael Kramer’s voice is like butter to my ears.

great perspective

"yes" and "no" mean more than just that. Entertaining and yielding some nuggets for life.

Superbly insightful

I loved listening to this book and have already started implementing many of the techniques taught by the author.

The stories kept this book engagingly and easy to follow.

The summary and the appendix in the end of the book lays everything out nicely for you to know the next steps.

Highly recommend if you want to up your negotiation game.