30 minute video of Voss talking about his first hostage negotiation at a bank in NYC.
Interesting points I took from this talk -
Interesting points I took from this talk -
- you can be on and off the phone with a suicidal person in around 20 minutes if you have been properly trained on how to help them. Voss spent 5 mos working on a suicide hotline before he was chosen for negotiation training with the FBI. He says it was invaluable, teaching him how to reach a person where it counts
- being the person to "have the last word" so that you are in charge of ending a conversation, and you must be the one to end a conversation, gives you the upper hand. While he was talking about this in terms of his job, I was thinking of it in terms of abusers and bullies.
- give someone an out. Don't lock them into a position or force them to double down. Many will take the out if it is offered
- tone of voice makes a difference - shouting "PUT THE GUN DOWN" will trigger a fight or flight response, calmly and firmly saying "put the gun down" is more likely to get the reaction you need