Published by: Julia
Being a good negotiator brings many benefits. It enables you to get what you need in your personal life as well as at work. Chris Voss´masterclass, teaches you how to use empathy to improve your negotiating skills.
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Literally, anyone will benefit from taking this unusual and very interesting masterclass. Understanding others and being able to relate to them means that you can really connect with people. This enables you to persuade them, in a way that would not otherwise be possible.
By the way, we recommend purchasing Masterclass for more than just one single course. The value comes when you take several. If you want to read our review of the whole platform, check out this Masterclass review article.
If you want to just find out what some of the best masterclasses are, this is the article for you.
Who is Chris Voss?
This course contains a huge amount of excellent advice. But before I go into detail about what you can expect to learn let me first tell you a bit more about your teacher, Chris Voss.
When it comes to negotiating, especially in difficult situations, there is no doubt that Chris knows what he is doing. For decades, he was one of the FBI´s top negotiators. He has handled many crisis situations, including hostage and kidnapping negotiations. For over 10 years, he was a member of New York´s Joint Terrorist Task Force.
These days, he provides negotiation training through his company Black Swan Group. He is also an adjunct professor at two of America´s universities and an author.
Life is all about negotiation
Chris starts by explaining that life is one long series of negotiations.
You are in negotiations all day long. If you want somebody to say yes to anything. If somebody is trying to get you to say yes to something, you are in a negotiation.
Chris Voss – Teaches the Art of Negotiation – Masterclass.com
As a result, absolutely anyone could benefit from taking this masterclass.
Chris starts by blowing the stereotypical understanding of what negotiation is out of the water. He shows you why negotiating is not all about confrontation, grabbing what you can. It is more about collaboration. Once you get at what is driving someone you can use that to leverage the situation. Once you understand the other party’s rules, what makes them tick, you can use them to drive things forward.
How to use mirroring to make a connection and glean information
Mirroring is something that a lot of people have heard of and use in their daily life. It is a great way to gather more information.
Chris explains how to show the other person that you have heard them but need more information. This enables you to draw them out and begin to build a rapport with them.
Silence is also a powerful tool. It can also be used to provide the other party with time to think and as a way to draw them out.
How to neutralize negative emotions
This section is all about labeling and how to use it to diffuse some of the negativity in the room. If someone you are talking to appears to be angry, just saying “You seem angry” to them, doing this can reduce their anger. This has been scientifically proven to work. In this video, Chris explains the right way to use this great tool. He also shows you the right way to label and leverage positive emotions.
Chris Voss´negotiation exercises
When you take this masterclass, you soon realize that Chris is a very experienced teacher. Every step of the way, he reinforces what he has just taught you. He uses repetition and provides an exercise to help you to practice what you have just learned, which is very effective.
Chris Voss´case studies and mock negotiations
Like some of the other expert instructors on Masterclass.com, Chris uses case studies to demonstrate what he is teaching. Again, this is very effective and one of the reasons it is such a good course. Here is a summary of the case studies he includes:
- The Chase Manhattan bank robbery
- The Jill Carroll hostage negotiation
- The Dwight Watson Tractor Man case
These case studies are fascinating as well as being a great learning tool. In most of them, Chris uses the original recordings. So, you get to hear exactly what each side said.
He also uses mock negotiations:
- How to negotiate with a teenager
- Negotiating successfully with a rival
- A mock salary negotiation
- 60 seconds or she dies negotiation exercise
- A practical demonstration of mirroring and labeling
The way you say something is just as important as what you say
In any negotiation, how you say something is important.
Your inner voice portrays your outer voice.
Chris Voss Negotiating Masterclass
If you use the wrong intonation, it can sound like you are calling the other person an idiot instead of seeking more information. You can also use your voice to slow things down, to make the other person feel calmer.
Chris takes you through the three different tones of voice and the two kinds of inflection. For a negotiation, an assertive tone is always counterproductive. Anger always leaves negativity, which is very bad for any kind of relationship.
How to negotiate using digital communication
This is a subject I wish Chris had covered in far more detail. After all, these days, we use digital communication more than we do verbal. However, the little he did say on the subject was extremely practical.
Tips to help you to negotiate well in a business setting
When Chris retired from the FBI he moved into the world of business negotiation and he is very good at it. Sadly, this masterclass is not about that. But the techniques he teaches, for example, mirroring and labeling, will prove highly effective in those settings. He does, however, share a few very specific business-related negotiation techniques.
Understanding body language and speech patterns
To be a successful negotiator, you have to pay attention to every detail. You have to focus and be a sponge that soaks up information from all sources. It is vital that you note what the other person’s body language and tone of voice are telling you.
Chris explains the 7/38/55 rule. To do this, he uses several easy to follow examples. Something that he does throughout this course, which is one of the reasons his masterclass is so good.
At this point in the course, he also explains how you can glean information by taking notice of the people on the sidelines. He also shows you how to establish a baseline for the negotiation. Knowing what someone looks like when they are telling the truth, will enable you to more easily spot when they are lying.
How to create the illusion that the other person is the one in control
An awful lot of people think that being a good negotiator is all about being the dominant one. Basically, bullying the other party into doing what you want. In reality, this approach is almost always counterproductive.
Who do you think has more control in a negotiation? The person doing the talking? or the person doing the listening? How important is control anyway vs the upper hand?
Chris Voss Masterclass.com Negotiation Skills Course
In this section of his masterclass, Chris explains why respecting the other party and making them feel that they have some control is actually more productive.
He shows you how to do that using the right questions. For example, using what and how questions instead of using the word why.
What is an accusations audit?
Chris points out that unexpressed negative feelings never die. They simply fester and pollute the negotiation.
He uses something called an accusations audit to uncover the negativity that the other party may be feeling. As well as how to bring the issues out into the open and address them. Once you have done that, you create an environment that is more conducive to success.
Knowing when to say yes and when to say no
An awful lot of people think that the most important word in a negotiation is yes. In reality, it is no. Chris explains why that is and shows you when and how to use it.
Interestingly, giving the other person the chance to say no is especially useful. It is counter-intuitive, but it makes sense once you realize why that is.
Why you need to understand the emotional drive of the other party
To be successful, you need to be able to look at things from the perspective of the other party. Chris shows you how to understand what drives them and what they fear. For example, you could point out how much money someone will lose each day if they do not work with you. This is more powerful than telling them what they will make. It is a subtle difference, but because you are tapping into a fear you can be that much more effective. You are not threatening them. Instead, you are pointing out the potential for them to miss out.
How to make a good bargain
In this part of the course, Chris quickly steps you through the Ackerman technique. A tried and tested approach to bargaining, which becomes even more powerful when you add in Chris´additional tips. It is a great example of when empathy pays off.
Chris also shares two very interesting ways to glean information about the other party. Armed with this you can get a far better idea of what they are likely to accept, of how they tick. This will make it far easier for you to achieve the result you want.
What are black swans and how to use them to your advantage
This was a particularly interesting part of the course. In any negotiation, there are things about the other party that you do not know and vice-versa. Things that are hidden.
Uncovering them can make a huge difference later on in the negotiation. Chris uses an example of a case he worked on to demonstrate how a so-called black swan helped him to end a standoff that has already been going on for 48 hours.
Who is Chris Voss´negotiation masterclass for?
Anyone who wants to learn how to become a better negotiator will be able to learn a huge amount from Chris Voss. What he teaches can be applied in all kinds of life situations. Using the tactical tools Chris shares, you will be able to get your voice heard, in both your personal and work-life.
This is another example of a masterclass I did not expect to prove to be very helpful for me personally, only to find out that I did, in fact, learn a lot. I only took it because I had an all-access pass, so could effectively take it for free.
With the all-access pass, you get access to every single one of the 80+ expert courses for the same price you would pay if you were to buy just two individual masterclasses. It is an incredible bargain and just one example of why the masterclass.com platform offers incredible value for money. You can read about more the benefits of taking these classes by reading my full review.