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

Insightful, convincing, and very interesting

The author highlights the human elements of negotiating - the underlying motivations that are largely ignored. He gives terrific examples using real life scenarios that capture the listener, you'll feel like you are in the moment witnessing the negotiation. Great stories! Michael Kramer performed very well, speaking clearly and inflection was used well. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in improving their interactions with others. The techniques are useful in business, as well as at home. It's understanding basic human motivations and emotions. Great stuff!

Beautifully empathetic and genuine

I love that this author is genuinely advocating hearing out the other person, even if they are in the wrong. The empathy and true active listening techniques, while also being strong and holding your own, are the perfect combination. They show you how to validate your own desires from a negotiation, while not invalidating the other person. Brilliant and perfectly narrated.

I didn't expect that much, but wow!

I didn't think this book would be great, and yet it turned out to be one of the better and more engaging stories I've listened to in many years. Other books may be more life transformative, but this was has some solid take-aways while at the same time recounting the most interesting of stories.

Little ideas, big impact

I have listened to this book a few times now. Each time I pick up a bit more on the real impact of words, phrases, and negotiation tactics have on the human psyche. Good advice to remember when making everyday deals.

Compelling and informative

The key to this book is that the author is an amazing story teller. Every example is tied into a compelling story. The first few minutes of the book truly gripped me. He also does a dope job throughout the book, establishing his credibility

Good takeaway principles

There are good principles to take away from this book that helped me to learn to embrace conflict and negotiate that not all conflict is bad. Hearing stories of the hostage negotiations within the FBI was very interesting although the voice by Michael Kramer was a bit monotone making it hard to finish up.

Great Narration w/ Good Content

The narration was excellent. Most of the stories were not too slow and balanced information while keeping it interesting. It's more than a cop sharing what he's learned.

A good review of in-person negotiation

Chris Voss's stories from his experiences as a hostage negotiator provide an interesting lens to view techniques for negotiation in a variety of in-person settings. I wished there had been more exploration of setting up negotiations in writing or by e-mail, but that's not the premise of the book.

This book adds value to many aspect of my life

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The teachings in this book are very valuable to anyone who is wise enough to read it. It’s like being taught the lessons of a successful family member who enjoyed a long and prosperous career in business.
Everyone should read this book. You will be taught how to negotiate everything and anything in life. You will learn the mental grappling skills of a grand master and you will be able to use those skills in your professional and personal life.
You will even take away more than just that from book. It could very well change your life forever and you could end up fearing no man or woman in confrontation again. It’s that good.

Everything you should ever need to know about negotiating

I see this as extremely valuable to anyone in business. Could be used in interpersonal relationships - I’ll have to try that sometime. Others mentioned the lack of PDF but a URL is provided. Also other reviews questioned the narrator - but I thought he was perfection and can’t see what’s not to like. The stories make this an engaging, entertaining read. And at the same time you are learning valuable tools. Love this book!