Ryan Bayron discusses Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

We’re excited to chat with Ryan Bayron about Never Split the Difference. Check out our conversation below.

Ryan, thanks for joining us again, we really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and insights about Never Split the Difference. Let’s start with a quick summary to bring everyone up to speed.
Chris was the leading FBI hostage negotiator for decades and has compiled everything he learned from his time in the field into this book, which is a master class in effective negotiating.

The catch is we don’t even realize how often we negotiate in our daily lives. Getting your toddler to go to bed, resolving conflict with your loved ones, even deciding where to order take-out from. Any time you enter a conversation where both parties want something, you’re negotiating.

This book isn’t about manipulating. It’s not about controlling others or winning a battle of wills in a power hierarchy. It’s about active listening, using empathy, and knowing why people operate the way they do.

This isn’t “how to win arguments and make people do what you want.” It’s “how to make your conversations as efficiently productive as possible while preserving the autonomy of all parties and honoring their humanity.”

And the stuff in this book just. Simply. Works.

Great, so maybe you can get into a bit more detail about why this book feels relevant to you and perhaps you can touch on any lessons or insights that resonated with you?
Anyone who is a human would benefit themselves and those around them from being equipped with the knowledge herein.

Can you talk to us about how the topics in the book relate to your lived experience – either professionally or personally?
Of all the techniques in this book, some require some forethought and intentionality (like calibrated questions), while others can be habitualized through repetition (like mirroring and labeling).

The latter has served me incredibly well in everything from sales calls with leads for my business to custody conversations with my ex-wife.

How did you discover this book?
I heard about it from a friend.

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