The Black Swan Method™ was originally designed for the cut-throat negotiator. Check out this quick clip to learn how to deal with these folks (and keep reading through to the end of the article for a bonus tip):
Read More >Chris Voss

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Dealing with a Cut-throat Negotiator
3 Ways You’re Stacking The Odds Against Yourself in Negotiations
At Black Swan, we teach our clients all sorts of tactics they can employ to achieve better outcomes in their personal and professional lives.
For the purposes of this article, we’re going to flip the script a bit and talk about tactics to avoid. Here are three common negotiating tactics that make it that much harder for you to get the results you want:
- Cutting your price
- Emulating the lizards
- Not finding out
Let’s explore each of them so you can learn what to do to avoid stacking the odds against yourself.
Read More >How to Deal with Someone Who’s Using Black Swan Tactics on You
You enter a negotiation. What if there’s a Black Swan-trained ninja on the other side?
In such a scenario, you’re most likely dealing with one of three tactics:
- How am I supposed to do that?
- A No-oriented question™
- Some sort of Label™ (that’s giving you a bad feeling)
2 Expert Negotiator Concepts That Have Evolved Since Never Split The Difference™ Was Published
Accusation Audits™ and Labels™ (more specifically, Asking Labels™) are two expert concepts that have evolved significantly since Never Split the Difference was published.
Read on to learn how we’re advising our best clients.
Read More >Seven Seconds: How to Crush Your First Impression
This blog was originally published on 11/26/2018 and updated on 10/22/2020.
Seven seconds.
That’s all the time you have to make a first impression, and you need to make a good one.
But how?
Watch these short two-minute videos to find out what you need to do during those seven seconds.
(Hint: It’s not confidence, and you don’t get there by asking yes-oriented questions. You also don’t get there by clubbing them with their first name over and over again.)
Read More >How to Practice Negotiation Skills by Yourself
How can you practice negotiation skills by yourself?
Read on to learn how to build yourself into an elite negotiator using a technique great athletes use: visualization.
Read More >How to Negotiate When the Decision Maker Isn't Present
Everyone wants to get to the decision maker (the DM). They’re the person we need to persuade to get what we want, after all.
But the decision maker isn’t always at the table when we are. Here are three tips that will make you much more effective when you find yourself in that scenario.
Read More >How to Make the Most of a Good Faith Negotiation
In a good faith negotiation, hope is high and relationships are great!
What’s wrong with that? Hope is not a strategy.
Keep reading to learn how to keep yourself from getting blindsided and losing when you find yourself in the throes of a good faith negotiation.
Read More >How to Negotiate with Difficult People
I’m on the wrong side of customs in Australia, and my bags are still inside. I’m not interested in getting stranded or missing my connection, and I’m also not keen on wearing the same clothes for five days and brushing my teeth with the hotel-provided toothbrush.
Here’s how I got out of this jam: I’m here to sign up for the Stupid American of the Year Award.
But first: How did I get into this predicament to begin with?
Read More >3 Things We've Learned About Negotiation During COVID-19
We’ve all learned many things due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past few months, we’ve even learned three new things about negotiation:
- You will be faced with three types of counterparts.
- Safety, trust, and need are the keys.
- The Accusation Audit™ is the game changer.
Keep reading to learn more about each of these ideas.
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