Chris Voss

"As soon as the other side starts to hear my voice, I've got influence. I might as well start building it right away..."

Author

Jordan Belfort
August 01, 2025

In partnership with

👋 Negotiate like your life depends on it — because for Chris Voss, it literally did. The former FBI hostage negotiator once talked three armed fugitives out of a 27th-floor Harlem apartment using nothing but his voice and six hours of strategic patience. They never said a word back.

Read time: 3 minutes | 757 words

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STORY 

🎯 The FBI's Secret to Winning Every Deal

Most people think negotiation is about talking. Chris Voss knows it's about listening—strategically.

The former FBI hostage negotiator who talked terrorists out of 27th-floor apartments without them saying a single word has cracked the code on human psychology that billionaires pay millions to understand.

Voss didn't learn negotiation in business school. He learned it when lives were on the line—where one wrong move meant body bags instead of handshakes.

"As soon as the other side starts to hear my voice, I've got influence. I might as well start building it right away."

The difference between hostage negotiation and billion-dollar deals? Nothing. Both require the same psychological triggers that make humans say "yes" when logic says "no."

The Crisis Response Method:

  • 1️⃣ Establish Influence Immediately - First voice contact = first impression of control

  • 2️⃣ Paint the Picture - Show them exactly how cooperation looks and feels

  • 3️⃣ Strategic Repetition - Hypnotic language patterns that bypass conscious resistance

  • 4️⃣ Tactical Patience - Six hours of one-way dialogue beats six minutes of argument

  • 5️⃣ Dignity Preservation - Nobody makes deals when their ego is under attack

The Harlem Breakthrough: Three armed fugitives, 27th floor, six hours of silence. Voss and his team talked them into peaceful surrender without a single response. The secret? They never stopped painting the picture of a way out that preserved dignity.

While amateurs try to dominate conversations, Voss discovered the counterintuitive truth that changed everything:

"The secret to gaining the upper hand in negotiation is giving the other side the illusion of control."

The Voss Control Framework:

  • ❌ Amateur Move: Doing all the talking, making all the demands ✅ Master Move: Asking strategic questions that trigger specific thought sequences

  • The Correction Trap: Voss intentionally says things wrong to get people correcting him—and revealing information they'd never share otherwise.

"It seems like Jim on your side is really against this deal..." "No, no, Jim's good! It's Bob who's the problem..."

Boom. Intelligence gathered. Problem diagnosed. Bob neutralized.

Here's where Voss blows up everything you think you know about persuasion: Most people avoid mentioning problems. Voss leads with them.

"Your emotional wiring is 75% negative. If I shut down the negatives by simply articulating them, that's the fastest way to neutralize them."

THE VISION-DECISION-ACTION FORMULA

Voss discovered the ultimate time-saver that prevents wasted effort on dead-end deals:

"Vision drives decision. Decision drives action. No vision = no deal. Ever."

The Early Warning System:

Before investing serious time, Voss tests one critical question: "Do you have any vision of us working together in your future?"

Red Flag Responses:

  • "I haven't really given it much thought..."

  • "Tell me why I need you in my life..."

  • "We're just exploring options..."

Translation: 20% of executives admit they engage with companies having zero intention of doing business. Don't be their free consulting.

THE TONALITY MASTERY

The voice that talked armed criminals into surrender isn't accident—it's engineered.

"The hostage negotiator's voice is a late-night FM DJ voice. Soothing, hypnotic, designed to calm and influence."

But here's the advanced play most people miss: It's not just how you talk. It's how you listen.

The Listening Language Pattern:

When they're talking, your micro-responses matter:

  • "Mmm-hmm... got it... that makes sense..."

  • Creates psychological safety

  • Encourages continued revelation

  • Builds unconscious rapport

The Result: They talk themselves into your deal while feeling completely in control.

THE PRACTICAL PLAYBOOK

Training Ground Strategy: Never test new techniques when millions are on the line. Practice on low-stakes conversations:

  • Utility company billing disputes

  • Coffee shop interactions

  • Uber driver conversations

The Advanced Implementation: Start with Voss's free newsletter and 90-minute Negotiation Nine intensive—more clarity than most people get from entire business school programs.

THE VOSS VERDICT

Chris Voss didn't just learn negotiation—he weaponized human psychology when failure meant death. His techniques don't just win deals; they save lives, build empires, and turn impossible conversations into inevitable victories.

The lesson isn't about becoming an FBI negotiator. It's about understanding that every human interaction is a negotiation, and the person who controls the psychological frame controls the outcome. Master the method. Control the conversation. Win the deal.

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