Derek Gaunt On Hostage Negotiation Tactics For Business And Life, Managing Egos And Difficult Emotions

Many things in life are based on negotiation and being able to successfully conduct one, sometimes even our lives and livelihoods depend on it. My guest today is an expert on all things negotiation.

Derek Gaunt is a lecturer, author of Ego, Authority, Failure, and trainer with 29 years of law enforcement experience, 20 of which as a team member, leader and then commander of hostage negotiations teams in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He is a hostage negotiation and incident command subject matter expert who frequently speaks at hostage negotiations and SWAT conferences across the country.

As a member of the Black Swan Group, he is a negotiation trainer and personal coach. Derek has trained throughout the US and around the world, instructing business organizations on how to apply hostage negotiation practices and principles to their world.

In this discussion, you’ll learn…

-How Derek became passionate about hostage negotiation…01:40

  • Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

-How to train your mind to keep calm in high risk situations…05:15

  • FMRI emotions in the brain

-Why the counter-attack is the worst thing you can do…08:30

-The most challenging hostage situation in Derek’s career…11:30

-How to learn from hostage negotiation communication skills…14:30

-Emotional empathy vs. tactical empathy…18:30

-Why mindset and empathy is the best way to overcome the fear of getting it wrong…20:20

-What forced empathy is and why it’s a powerful negotiation tactic…24:25

-The five levels of listening…27:23

-The biggest lesson Derek has taken from his career as a hostage negotiator…29:15

-Common mistakes that big corporations and CEO’s tend to make in negotiations…31:50

-What to do when you detect deception from your counterpart…34:10

-How to position yourself on top with the Oprah Winfrey rule…38:17

-Derek’s practices…41:30

About Derek: Derek Gaunt is a lecturer, author of “Ego, Authority, Failure: Using Emotional Intelligence Like a Hostage Negotiator to Succeed as a Leader.” He’s a trainer with 29 years of law enforcement experience, 20 of which as a team member, leader and then commander of hostage negotiations teams in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He is a hostage negotiation and incident command subject matter expert who frequently speaks at hostage negotiations and SWAT conferences across the country.

Derek’s passion for interpersonal communications began when he was selected as a detective in the Criminal Investigations Section of a municipal police agency. He spent the majority of his law enforcement career in the Criminal Investigations Section as a detective, supervisor, and eventually commander of major crimes. In 1997, he took his passion for interpersonal communications to the next level, becoming a hostage negotiator. Once he became a supervisor, his passion transitioned from “doing” to teaching the concepts to others. As a member of the Black Swan Group, he is a negotiation trainer and personal coach. Derek has trained throughout the US and around the world, instructing business organizations on how to apply hostage negotiation practices and principles to their world.

Resources:

Derek’s Book: Ego, Authority, Failure

The Black Swan Group