Business

The Power of Negotiation

Lesson time 03:07 min

Chris’s motivation for teaching negotiation is deeply personal. Discover why Chris believes negotiation is a powerful tool that can transform your life.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: The Power of Negotiation

Chris Voss

Teaches the Art of Negotiation

Former FBI lead hostage negotiator Chris Voss teaches you communication skills and strategies to help you get more of what you want every day.

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] - I hope my legacy as a teacher of negotiation is somebody that is remembered just who helped a lot of people have smoother lives, have more enjoyable life, get more out of life, whatever it is that they wanted to do. Maybe they just want to go surfing all the time. It doesn't matter. It helped them have the courage to go ahead and navigate that and go out and do it and live a fantastic life, look back on our life and have it be an amazing story. One of the reasons I love teaching people negotiation, it's because I hate bullies, and this gives people power in the face of a bully. Why do I hate bullies so much? You know, I search my mind for that a lot. I got a really bad reaction to bullies. I mean, I want to go after them. I think it was-- I look back on it. When I was about nine, there was a neighborhood bullies, scared the hell out of me, scared the hell out of me a couple times, called me by my house, scared me to death. I remember being the most scared I ever was in my life. Called me at the local town pool a few days again after that, scared the hell out of me. The first time he called me, it was-- we were playing a game where all these kids were playing a game, and he made up the story about how that somehow I'd broken the law, and he stopped me, and he grabbed my bike, and he held onto me and explained to me how I was going to be taken to jail for breaking a law and that I was going to be executed and I would be killed. And it terrified me. And then at the time that he was doing that, the way that we used to-- the way I used to be signaled by my mom that it was time to come home-- I had a stay-at-home mom, and it was dinner time, and we were in the neighborhood. She had a whistle that she blew, and she blew the whistle, and we knew it was time to come home. And she blew the whistle, and he wouldn't let me go. And I had never, ever not been able to get back. And that was the most afraid I ever was. Why did it make me so emotional to go back to that place? I don't know. I haven't-- I think-- yeah, protecting people has always mattered. It always mattered to me that I would have the opportunity to protect people or save people. The protect and serve part of law enforcement always meant something to me. I just wanted to-- somehow the opportunity to get the bad guys has always meant a lot to me. [MUSIC PLAYING] MAN: You already know that you trust me. You can tell that I'm being straight with you. Why don't you meet me outside? You gonna-- you gonna come out now? MAN: Yeah, I wanna end this shit, man. MAN: OK.

About the Instructor

As an FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss persuaded terrorists, bank robbers, and kidnappers to see things his way. Now he’s teaching you his field-tested strategies to help you in everyday negotiations, whether you’re aiming to improve your salary, the service you receive, or your relationships. Get stronger communication skills, game-changing insights into human nature, and more of what you want out of life.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Chris Voss

Former FBI lead hostage negotiator Chris Voss teaches you communication skills and strategies to help you get more of what you want every day.

Explore the Class