Book Review: 'Never Split the Difference' by Chris Voss

Get your copy here: amzn.to/3vJjz8y After spending time policing the streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss found his way into the FBI as a hostage negotiator. Eventually, he became the FBI’s lead international head of kidnapping negotiations. Chris Voss' Never Split the Difference gets underneath the world of negotiations, pointing to a range of skills and techniques that help negotiate negotiations. Voss shares some nine principles, from strategies to tactics, to inspire you to be a better persuader, applicable to work and life in general. Whether that’s buying a car, a home, negotiating with your partner, dealing with rent increases and so on. It serves as a guide to train your intellect and intuition, giving you the competitive edge in every imaginable or unimaginable situation.

Chris Voss' Never Split the Difference highlights the concept of tactical empathy. This is understanding empathy but with practical nuance, helping you realise the perspective of your counterparts in its granular level. Understanding empathy at such an intricate level gives you the skill to navigate it in objective ways. Applicable to scenarios like creating rapport to building trust. 

Chris Voss' Never Split the Difference reveals the concept of mirroring, which is a way to imitate and reflect the style of your counterpart. This is a powerful way to stabilize the counterpart, allowing for more dialogue and information sharing. Ultimately, this practice leads to a scenario where mutually beneficial agreements are made possible.

Listening with intent is something we overlook. Chris Voss' Never Split the Difference demonstrates the value of this undermined skill. He reveals the various aspects of active listening — from tactical silence to looking for the hidden details. To be a better listener is to resist the urge to reply, Voss’ book underscores the power of listening as a way to navigate such barriers. 

Chris Voss' Never Split the Difference looks into a variety of interpersonal tactics, such as strategic negotiation, framing, anchoring, cognitive biases, labelling — a means to validate the emotions of your counterpart while steering the conversation in the direction that best benefits you. The book is full of several case studies drawn from an exciting and terrifying career, giving readers the techniques and wisdom needed to diffuse negotiations in contexts that are universally applicable.

Chris Voss' Never Split the Difference is a masterclass in the art of making the deal, applying strategic nuance, tactical prowess and tricks to navigate the challenges of human interaction. It’s a way to rethink how to approach negotiations. The book serves two purposes: giving the readers an in depth view about the art and mindset of a solid negotiator like Voss, keeping things interesting as it draws from real-world examples in the most challenging scenarios, while revealing the techniques needed to activate the right outcomes in everyday negotiations. The book is presented in a narrative style, filled with practical takeaways, making it a refreshing read for people of all kinds. It inspires readers to readily practice what they’re learning in daily scenarios, allowing real-time feedback to improve on the techniques presented. Get your copy here: amzn.to/3vJjz8y