Hostage crisis negotiator Paul Nadeau explains the at of influecne under stress

1. Presented by Jean Paul Nadeau
Former Hostage Negotiator, Consultant,
Author of “Hostage to Myself”
Slide references:
Practical Police Psychology
Dr. Laurence Miller
6 Hostage Negotiation Techniques That
Will Get You What You Want - Time
HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS AND
THE ART OF INFLUENCE

2. • Introduction: Who I am and how this presentation can apply to you
• Blog/tweet what you’re experiencing
• What would you like to take away from this presentation? Your curiosity
and issues are the most important ones to address today. In addition to the
ones listed on the objectives slide, please feel free to tell me if there are
any others you would like for me to add to the list
• Your participation – your opinions and your questions and our scenarios
WELCOME

3. CONNECT – RESPECT - PROTECT

4. • Define the term hostage
• Situations someone can find themselves hostage to
• Who are the hostage takers? Motivations?
• Traits of a good hostage negotiator
• Basic Protocol
• The team
• How the principles of hostage negotiation apply to business negotiations
• Mock scenarios…
OBJECTIVES

5. • A hostage is anyone who finds themselves taken or seized by someone
who has power and control over their actions
• Incidents involving hostages vary in motivations
• In a hostage or crisis negotiation, lives are at imminent risk of violent
death at the hands of depressed, suicidal, homicidal, mentally ill, desperate,
panicked, drug and/or alcohol induced individual (s)
• Resolution of hostage crisis' may take hours or even days of focused and
intense negotiation, requiring skilled communication strategies, an
understanding of human nature and psychology
HOSTAGE

6. • There are three especially dangerous periods during a hostage crisis:
• The initial 15 - 45 minutes when confusion and panic are generally the highest
• During the surrender of the hostage taker (s) when emotions can run high, planned
surrender may not go as smoothly as anticipated
• Finally, when a decision has been reached to deploy Tactical Support Officers to rescue
hostages. This decision is made when Negotiation fails and it carries the highest
casualty rate potential for at least two reasons: first, reasonable attempts to negotiate
have failed. Violence or death to the hostages is a high probability. Next, a firefight may
ensue and during the confusion and exchange in the rescue attempt and innocent
hostages may be caught in the crossfire or killed.
THREE ESPECIALLY CRITICAL
TIMES DURING CRISIS

7. • The on-scene commander: the person in charge of the actual hostage crisis.
The commander is responsible for everything that goes on at the crisis
scene, from establishing perimeters and traffic control, to directing the
activity of negotiators, to deploying the tactical team, to liaising with
emergency medical and community services.
• The negotiator. The preferred model is to have one primary negotiator and one
secondary or backup negotiator. The backup (secondary) takes over if the
primary negotiator is unable to establish sufficient communication with the
hostage taker, if there are language or cultural barriers involved, or if the
primary negotiator needs a break after many hours of negotiating. He/she
also keeps detailed notes, records times of demands and keeps a “live
board” updated
THE TEAM

8. • The intelligence officer. His/her job is to gather information about the
hostage-taker and hostages — including family members, past criminal
and/or mental heath treatment history, demographics, identity of the
hostages and their relation to the HT, and any other intelligence that will
be useful in planning and carrying out the negotiation.
• The communications officer. His/her function is to keep in contact with all of
individuals and agencies who are important in managing the crisis, such as
firefighting and emergency medical services, local electrical power and
phone companies, public transportation agencies, local businesses, and the
media. Many departments have a public information officer who is charged
with the specific duty of timely, accurate, and rumour-free information to
the media and general public, without compromising the operation
THE TEAM

9. • The tactical team. Consists of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit,
specialized marksmen, and other professionals whose sole job is to be
prepared to make a forced entry if and when it is determined by the on-
scene commander (through the Negotiator) that negotiations have failed
and that hostages are in imminent danger. They will effect the arrest of the
suspects (s) and secure the hostages.
• Considering that the highest fatality rate in hostage crises occurs during
tactical incursion, the decision to order such an action is an excruciatingly
difficult one. In some cases, no actual forced entry may occur, but other
tactical measures may be utilized, e.g. sniper action against the HTs, or
sending in gas or flash-bangs to immobilize the HTs or flush them out.
Again, these measures are to used with extreme caution and only as a last
resort, when life is in immediate danger
THE TEAM

10. • The team psychologist. Generally has two main roles: (1) participation in team
development, training, and selection of personnel; and (2) operational
assistance during the crisis itself, including monitoring of negotiation
progress, psychological profiling of hostages and HTs, assessment of
danger and risk level, monitoring the mental status of negotiators and
other personnel at the scene, and participating in both operational and
critical incident stress debriefings following the incident
AND FINALLY…

11. • The first priority is to isolate and contain the HT and to secure the
perimeter. The goal is to keep the HT in and keep others out. As a general
rule, the perimeter should be large enough to allow freedom of movement
of the tactical and negotiating teams, and small enough to be kept under
observation and control by the authorities. More than one perimeter, i.e.,
inner and outer, may be necessary.
• General Communication Strategies in Hostage Negotiation: Establish
contact. Open dialog with an introduction and statement of purpose: “I’m
Paul. I’m a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, Crisis
Negotiations Unit. I’m here for you and to make sure everybody stays
safe.” Keep the introduction as simple as possible, and always strive for
honesty and credibility. Keep your voice firm but calm, and convey your
confidence in the fact that this is a temporary crisis that will be resolved
safely.
BASIC PROTOCOL

12. • To build rapport, begin by asking what the HT prefers to be called. When in doubt,
address him/her respectfully. Try to use a name that is familiar to him. If you’re
not sure, don’t automatically assume that William will respond favourably to “Bill”
or “Willy.” If no first name is available, use respectful titles, like “Mr. Smith.” If
the name is unknown, use “sir,” rather than “pal” or “buddy.”
• The goal is to establish rapport and trust as quickly as possible using effective
communication skills. The initial phase is critical and everyone appreciates being
treated with dignity and respect, despite the circumstances.
• Establish that everyone is without injury, including the HT. If medical treatment is
necessary for anyone, begin by communicating the benefits of providing immediate
treatment.
• Listen to the HT. Find out what drove him/her to this point. Let them vent. Keep
in mind that the HT may not even hear your words for several minutes due to an
elevated degree of stress brought on at times by “fight or flight”.
RAPPORT BUILDING

13. • Consider demands. Guide the HT to rational thinking. Be honest at all
times. Help the HT see the “big picture” without turning them off. Focus
on them and not the hostages whenever possible. The less they think about
the hostages, the best.
• Be adaptable; use active listening skills; paraphrase; be charismatic; be
patient; influence; guide; be respectful; be confident; be calm; remain aware
and focused.
• Negotiations may take several hours and even days. Be mentally prepared.
Remain focused on seeing everyone to safety.
• When a resolution is reached, prepare the HT for what is about to take
place.
RAPPORT BUILDING

14. • The surrender procedure is a critical one. Preparing the HT for what is
about to transpire must be carefully and honestly explained. Emotions
become extremely elevated. It’s not over until the HT is in custody and the
hostages are secure that a negotiation may be considered successful.
SURRENDER

15. • The Behavioural Change Stairway Model applies to most types of
disagreements – not only to barricaded suspects and hostage negotiations
• 5 Steps to conflict resolution:
• 1) Active listening: Truly listening to their point of view
• 2) Empathy: The ability to understand their point of view
• 3) Rapport: Empathy is what you feel. Rapport is when they feel they’re
being understood and there is a human connection built on trust
• 4) Influence: Now that they trust you, you’ve earned the right to work on
problem solving with them and recommend a course of action
• 5) Behavioural Change: They act.
NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES IN
THE REAL WORLD

16. • In many business negotiations, there is a tendency to skip directly to step
4: Influence and expect step 5, Change
• Former head of the FBI international hostage negotiations division Chris
Voss puts it this way: “…business negotiations try to pretend that
emotions don’t exist. What’s your best alternative to a negotiated
agreement, or ‘BATNA’? That’s to try to be completely unemotional
and rational, which is a fiction about negotiation. Human beings are
incapable of being rational, regardless… So instead of pretending
emotions don’t exist in negotiations, hostage negotiators have
actually designed an approach that takes emotions fully into account
and uses them to influence situations, which is the reality of the way
all negotiations go…”
BATNA – BEST ALTERNATIVES TO
A NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT

17. • The most critical step in the Behavioural Change Staircase is Active
Listening. The other steps follow.
• From Voss: “If while you’re making your argument, the only time the
other side is silent is because they’re thinking about their own
argument, they’ve got a voice in their head that’s talking to them.
They’re not listening to you. When they’re making their argument to
you, you’re thinking about your argument, that’s the voice in your
head that’s talking to you. So it’s very much like dealing with a
schizophrenic. If your first objective in the negotiation, instead of
making your argument, is to hear the other side out, that’s the only
way you can quiet the voice in the other guy’s mind. But most people
don’t do that. They don’t walk into a negotiation wanting to hear
what the other side has to say. They walk into a negotiation wanting
to make an argument. They don’t pay attention to emotions and they
don’t listen”
CRITICAL STEPS TO SUCCESS IN
NEGOTIATIONS

18. • The basics of active listening are pretty straightforward:
• Listen to what they say. Don’t interrupt, disagree or “evaluate.”
• Nod your head, and make brief acknowledging comments like “yes”
and “uh-huh.”
• Without being awkward, repeat back the gist of what they just said,
from their frame of reference.
• Inquire. Ask questions that show you’ve been paying attention and
that move the discussion forward.
ACTIVE LISTENING

19. • 1) Open ended questions: “It sounds like you’re having a very hard time
with this. Tell me how it all happened”.
• 2) Effective pauses: Pausing is powerful. Use it for emphasis, to
encourage someone to keep talking or to defuse things when people get
emotional.
• 3) Minimal encouragers: “I see”, “Yes”, “Go on…”
• 4) Mirroring: Repeating the last word or phrase the person said to show
you’re listening and engaged. Yes, it’s that simple — just repeat the last
word or two: “For example, a subject may declare, “I’m sick and tired of
being pushed around,” to which the negotiator can respond, “Feel
pushed, huh?” (Gary Noesner)
6 STEPS USED BY NEGOTIATORS

20. • 5) Paraphrasing: Repeating what the other person is saying back to them
in your own words. This powerfully shows you really do understand and
aren’t merely parroting. “If I understand you correctly, what you’re saying
is….”
• 6) Emotional Labeling: Give their feelings a name. It shows you’re
identifying with how they feel. Don’t comment on the validity of the
feelings — they could be totally crazy — but show them you understand.
“A good use of emotional labeling would be “You sound pretty hurt about being left. It
doesn’t seem fair,” because it recognizes the feelings without judging them. It is a good
Additive Empathetic response because it identifies the hurt that underlies the anger the
woman feels and adds the idea of justice to the actor’s message, an idea that can lead to
other ways of getting justice. A poor response would be “You don’t need to feel that way.
If he was messing around on you, he was not worth the energy.” It is judgmental. It
tells the subject how not to feel. It minimizes the subject’s feelings, which are a major
part of who she is. It is Subtractive Empathy”. (Voss)
6 STEPS

21. • John Chapman is 24. He’s been diagnosed with cancer and has 6 months to
live.
• Very devoted to his family and especially to his 8 year old sister Robyn,
John has walked into the National Bank to plead for money from the bank
manager who has obviously refused. When asked to leave, John refused
and two bank employees tried to escort him out. John grabbed a sharp
letter opener from the presidents desk and is now holding it to the
presidents throat, demanding that the money be deposited. He doesn’t care
if he lives or dies at this time. He is only focused on the deposit
• Volunteers?
SCENARIO 1 –
ACTOR/NEGOTIATOR

22. • Rose Chapman is 34. She has an addiction to alcohol and just lost custody
of her 6 year old daughter Jane – who means the world to her. She also
lost her job and has become suicidal.
• Rose left a “good-bye” message for her daughter on her ex’s answering
machine. He retrieved it immediately and drove to the hotel Jane has taken
a room in while she got back on her feet. The police were called and have
established an outer perimeter. There is a phone in Rose’s room and that
line has been secured by the police.
• The Negotiator is now on-scene.
• Volunteer?
SCENARIO 2

23. • Abdul is 30. Twice paroled for armed robbery, he is an addict and
desperate for fast cash. He walked into a convenience store armed with a
gun. Several customers were in the store when he pulled out his gun and
demanded cash from the clerk and during the commotion, one customer
ran out of the store yelling, “Call 9-1-1!”
• Abdul locked the store door and now has 3 hostages. The police were in
the vicinity and a Negotiator has been called.
• Volunteer?
SCENARIO 3

24. • Questions?
• Paul Nadeau – 416-568-4007
• jpaulnadeau@gmail.com
• Domestic terrorism lectures available; speaking engagements available
THANK YOU