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Every officer, supervisor and commander eventually faces the same challenge crisis negotiators train for every day: staying composed, building trust and making a good decision when the information is incomplete, emotions are high and someone is demanding an answer right now. The techniques hostage negotiators use on the worst calls of someone’s life turn out to work just as well on patrol, in the squad room and in the chief’s office.
In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Don Fieselman, a 25-plus-year law enforcement veteran and former leader and instructor with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department Crisis Negotiation Team, now a negotiation coach with the Black Swan Group. Fieselman explains how the same skills used to talk someone down from a barricaded standoff can defuse conflict between a sergeant and their officers, deliver bad news without losing trust, and get quiet team members to speak up before a problem becomes a crisis.
Tune in to discover
- Why “calm down” rarely works — and what to say instead to actually get through to someone who is angry or irrational
- The five levels of listening, and why the second one is nicknamed “the marriage killer”
- How to use an “accusation audit” to deliver bad news without blindsiding the person hearing it
- Why voice tone and cadence can influence someone’s brain chemistry faster than the words themselves
Additional resources
- “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss
- “Fight Less, Win More” by Jonathan B. Smith and Derek Gaunt
About our sponsor
This episode of the Policing Matters podcast is sponsored by OfficerStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting OfficerStore.com.
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