--- title: Persuasion Techniques From the #1 FBI Hostage Negotiator description: It's important to be a good listener. canonical: https://time.com/4250411/persuasion-technique-fbi-hostage-negotiators-2/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-08T12:30:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:01:58.952Z og:title: The Key Persuasion Technique of the FBI's Top Hostage Negotiator og:description: Remember to be a good listener og:url: https://time.com/4250411/persuasion-technique-fbi-hostage-negotiators-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltedf29353c40f9901/69887cdf428a9ef2a7cd1520/amplify-feminism-voices-women.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4850 og:image:height: 2728 og:image:alt: 559277055 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Key Persuasion Technique of the FBI's Top Hostage Negotiator twitter:description: Remember to be a good listener twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltedf29353c40f9901/69887cdf428a9ef2a7cd1520/amplify-feminism-voices-women.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Key Persuasion Technique of the FBI's Top Hostage Negotiator > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Mar 8, 2016 12:30 PM UTC  Origami megaphone Origami megaphone Henrik Sorensen—Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Mar 8, 2016 12:30 PM UTC FBI Hostage negotiators know how to listen and this is the secret to connecting with people. We’ve all been told we could be better listeners and that listening is important. But what does that really mean and how do we do it? Let’s round up the research… **Why It’s Important** Nobody likes a [conversational narcissist](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-you-a-conversational-narcissist) but we’ve all been one: --- > “” --- What makes teams at the office smart isn’t combined IQ, [it’s social skills, with the ability to listen being paramount](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-makes-teams-smart): --- > “” --- What [two qualities make great salespeople](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-the-two-qualities-great-salespeople)? One of them is the ability to listen: --- > “” --- What made subjects in a research study be rated instantly more likable? [Just listening to the other person _and saying “tell me more.”_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-easily-be-more-likable-and-make-people) Not listening ends relationships. And from a more strategic point of view, if people don’t think you’re listening to them [it’s almost impossible to change their mind](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-use-hostage-negotiation-techniques-to). **_Related posts:_** [_How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) **Active Listening** So what do you have to do? Keep in mind that good listening is “non-evaluative.” Don’t judge or analyze what the person is saying at first. Just focus on trying to understand their perspective. What’s the first thing you have to do? Shut your mouth. Should be obvious but if it were, you might not be reading this. **_Related posts:_** [_8 Things The World’s Most Successful People All Have In Common_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/12/successful-people/) Here’s the important part: _just shutting up is not enough._ **_Listening isn’t just listening. It’s letting the other person know you’re listening._** **_Related posts:_** [_6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/most-productive-people/) This is “[active listening](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-quickly-and-easily-improve-your-listen).” It has three components: paraphrasing, inquiry and acknowledgment: --- > “” --- But does this really work? It works in relationships. Active listening [is sexy](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-behavior-signals-if-a-woman-or-man-is-in): --- > “” --- **Our happiest moments are made better when 1) we share them with others and 2)** [**they respond supportively**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-does-it-take-to-make-out-happiest-moment)**. A response should be both** [**active and constructive**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-is-the-best-way-to-respond-to-someone-in)**.** Guess what the top ranked telemarketers [all had in common](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-the-influence-secrets-of-top-telemar)? --- > “” --- Active listening is the [first thing FBI hostage negotiators use](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-use-hostage-negotiation-techniques-to) to de-escalate incidents and save lives. --- > “” --- Gary Noesner, former chief negotiator with the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group and author of [Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400067251/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1400067251) has discussed the use of [active listening techniques](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-7-negotiating-tricks-can-we-learn-from-f?): --- > “” --- **Short Takeaway** Summing up: [what do you need to do to be a great listener](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/an-easy-way-to-dramatically-improve-your-list)? **What steps should you follow in your next conversation?** 1. **Listen to what they say.** **_Don’t interrupt, disagree or “evaluate.”_** 2. **Nod your head, and make brief acknowledging comments like “yes” and “uh-huh.”** 3. **Without being awkward, repeat back the gist of what they just said, from their frame of reference.** 4. **Inquire. Ask questions that show you’ve been paying attention and that move the discussion forward.** They will feel like you really understand them and you probably will — because while they were speaking you weren’t trying to figure out why they’re wrong or misguided. You were trying to understand their perspective and communicated that to them with your behavior. To **get my exclusive full interview with former head of FBI hostage negotiation Chris Voss** (where he explains the two words that tell you a negotiation is going very badly) join my free weekly newsletter. **Click** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/09/what-can-we-learn-from-fbi-hostage-negotiator/)**_._** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4250411/persuasion-technique-fbi-hostage-negotiators-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4250411/persuasion-technique-fbi-hostage-negotiators-2/"},"headline":"The Key Persuasion Technique of the FBI's Top Hostage Negotiator","datePublished":"2016-03-08T12:30:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:58.952Z","description":"It's not just in what you say, but in what you do","url":"https://time.com/4250411/persuasion-technique-fbi-hostage-negotiators-2/","keywords":["motto","Psychology","FBI"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltedf29353c40f9901/69887cdf428a9ef2a7cd1520/amplify-feminism-voices-women.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltedf29353c40f9901/69887cdf428a9ef2a7cd1520/amplify-feminism-voices-women.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"559277055","caption":"Origami megaphone","creditText":"Henrik Sorensen—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4250411/persuasion-technique-fbi-hostage-negotiators-2/","name":"The Key Persuasion Technique of the FBI's Top Hostage Negotiator"}}]}] ```