Assertive Negotiation

Name: Assertive Negotiation
ISBN: 9787510852817

克里斯·沃斯 / 塔尔·拉兹 / 赵坤Jiuzhou Press · ChinaSep 2022

4.3

Word count: 151K words
Chapters: 14
ISBN: 9787510852817

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Summary

How do you become the smartest person in any room? How do you build rapport fast? How do you persuade people effectively? How do you create an atmosphere where you can dance safely with risk? This book is the answer. It is a compelling, indispensable course in negotiating principles, the product of Chris Voss's distinguished career as a former FBI international hostage and crisis negotiator. Drawing on a series of high-stakes real-world negotiations, he distills tested, effective strategies and techniques. The value of Never Split the Difference lies in bringing professional negotiation skills into ordinary daily life, so that we gain more advantage and success in practical situations such as buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a house, and persuading friends. By mastering the key unknowns in negotiation, you take control of your life.

Editor's review

Never Split the Difference is not a guide to being aggressive and overpowering your opponent; on the contrary, it is a systematic methodology for staying calm under high pressure, building cooperation, and reaching mutually beneficial outcomes. The author, Chris Voss, a former FBI international hostage and crisis negotiator, distills a lifetime of high-stakes negotiation skills into communication tools ordinary people can use. The book's core value lies in freeing negotiation from the mindset of a "zero-sum game" and emphasizing techniques such as tactical empathy, calibrated questions, and labeling emotions to uncover and steer the conversation toward joint problem-solving. Specific frameworks Voss proposes, such as the "Ackerman model," are highly practical. For business professionals, managers, or anyone who must handle complex interpersonal relationships, this book offers not flashy scripts but a mindset for deeply influencing others while protecting one's own core interests. It is especially strong at breaking deadlocks, opening new conversational paths when the other side says "no" or seems to have no room to move. As you read, you will realize that true "strength" comes from precise insight into the situation and absolute control of one's own emotions, not from the volume of one's voice.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Professionals in sales, procurement, business partnerships, and other roles requiring frequent negotiation
Team managers and project leads who often coordinate resources and resolve internal conflicts
Learners with a strong interest in psychology and the mechanisms of interpersonal communication
Individuals who feel they tend to be passive in important conversations and want to increase their influence

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for instantly effective "universal scripts" that require no practice
People who believe all negotiation is a fight to the death and reject the idea of mutual benefit

Reading tips

Practice core techniques from the book, such as 'labeling emotions' and 'calibrated questions,' first in low-risk everyday situations to build muscle memory
Reflect on your own failed or stalled communication cases as you read, and consider how to use the book's methods to break through
Focus on core chapters such as 'Negotiation Is Not an Argument' and 'Get Them to Say Yes,' understanding the psychology behind them rather than mechanically applying steps

About the publisher

Jiuzhou Press China · Founded in 1993

Jiuzhou Press is a comprehensive publisher with humanities, social sciences, and classic works as important publishing directions, maintaining a sustained focus on philosophy, history, literature, and social culture. Its catalogue includes works by modern literary masters such as Xiao Hong and Lu Xun, as well as intellectual and art history works by Xu Fuguan, including A History of Chinese Theories of Human Nature: Pre-Qin Volume, A History of Han Thought, and The Spirit of Chinese Art: A Study of Shitao. It also translates and introduces overseas academic works such as Peter H. Wilson's The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy and Peter Suber's The Case of the Speluncean Explorers, and covers cross-cultural exchange themes such as From Dunhuang to Samarkand. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of original texts with academic translation, forming relatively stable author and title resources in categories including philosophy, military affairs, theory, and social culture. More complete information about the press's publishing history and plans is limited in publicly available sources; this summary is based only on the titles in the catalogue.

版权信息
第一章新规则
第二章重复对方的话
第三章体会他人痛苦，不如把他们的痛苦“标注”出来
第四章小心“是”——掌控“不”
第五章得到一句话，瞬间改变谈判
第六章扭转现实
第七章制造控制的幻觉
第八章确保执行
第九章互利原则极端预设点
第十章找到黑天鹅
致谢
准备一页纸的谈判材料清单
关于作者

FAQ

Are the techniques in this book useful in everyday life?

Very useful. The principles come from hostage negotiation, but they are essentially advanced communication skills. Whether discussing household expenses with a partner, coordinating tasks with colleagues, or bargaining with a merchant, the core logic of listening, understanding, and guiding applies broadly.

Are the author's FBI-background techniques too aggressive for a business setting?

Not at all. The author has adapted and tempered these techniques from extreme environments so they apply to business and life. Their core is "cooperative" rather than "confrontational," aimed at reaching agreement safely, which is exactly what business negotiation seeks.

Do the book's methods mean constantly compromising?

Not at all. The book advocates "assertive" collaboration. It teaches you how to clearly define and hold your bottom line (what the author calls your "reservation price") while strategically expanding the possible agreement space through communication, so that you reach better solutions while protecting your core interests.

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About the author

克里斯·沃斯 Author

Chris Voss is an author about whom Chinese bibliographic sources provide limited information. Only one of his works, Never Split the Difference (published in Chinese as Qiangshi TANPAN), is currently included in the database, and it is commonly classified under management. Because public information is limited, no reliable records are available regarding his nationality, dates of birth and death, English name, or personal experience, and this introduction makes no speculation on these points. Based on the available work, the book falls within the field of management and negotiation, and its writing appears to focus on practical communication strategies and negotiation methods, making it suitable for readers interested in workplace bargaining, interpersonal communication, and business negotiation. Its classification under management also suggests that its content addresses practical applications in organizational management and professional skill development. Overall, Chris Voss has entered the view of Chinese readers through a single work on negotiation, and his writing style and influence are mainly reflected in the field of practical management reading, with further biographical information awaiting public sources.

塔尔·拉兹 Author

Tal Raz is an author known for writing on negotiation and communication. Publicly available information about him is currently limited, and his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. One work by him is included in the collection, Strong Negotiation, which is classified under management and addresses negotiation strategies, communication skills, and practical responses, aimed at workplace readers who wish to improve their ability to negotiate. Judging from the subject matter, Raz's writing emphasizes practical operation rather than abstract theory, and tends to treat negotiation as a trainable and reusable skill, stressing how to secure favorable terms under conditions of limited information and pressure. As further information about the author's other works and life is not yet sufficient, readers may regard him as an author focused on the field of management communication who has entered Chinese-language reading through a single work, whose influence is mainly reflected in the book's practical orientation and its contribution to management reading on negotiation.

赵坤 Author

Zhao Kun is a Chinese author whose works span a notably wide range of subjects. Public information about him is limited, and his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly documented. Judging from the five works held in the collection, he covers communication and negotiation, programming, psychology, and traditional culture: there are practical books on everyday and workplace communication such as Control the Conversation and Tough Negotiation, a technical guide titled Node.js Debugging Guide (Full Color), and more foundational or humanities-oriented titles including Introduction to Psychology and The Contemporary Value of Fine Traditional Chinese Culture. This cross-disciplinary output suggests an interest in both applied skills and general knowledge, with writing aimed at ordinary readers and emphasizing practicality and accessible introductions. His works are distributed across categories such as personal growth, management, programming and design, examinations, and culture, indicating a diverse readership.