As a Hostage Negotiator Kevin has years of experience communicating in the most difficult and challenging situations, from Kidnap and Barricade Siege Negotiation to Suicide Intervention and negotiating the surrender of Dangerous Offenders at large. With over 27 years experience in a wide variety of policing disciplines, his experience includes both overt and covert policing roles; and ranges from operational roles to strategic senior leadership roles.

A UK trained hostage negotiator and graduate of the FBI’s hostage negotiation program, Kevin is passionate about the work of hostage negotiators and continues to be one of the driving forces behind the development of hostage negotiation, and kidnap negotiation training in the UK and Internationally.

With extensive experience at both operational and strategic levels, Kevin is a practitioner who brings a unique real world perspective on high stakes negotiation.  He brings a reality to the power of leadership, communication and influence when operating in high pressure environments, de-escalating crisis situations where building stronger client/team relationships is crucial and where operating effectively as a leader under extreme pressure is a must.

Kevin’s passion for his work coupled with his ability to engage a team and translate his knowledge and experience into the corporate environment have seen him recognised internationally as being one of the leading voices in the specialist area of elite negotiation.  His inspirational style makes training with him enjoyable, memorable and above all practical. An exceptional coach in the areas of high-pressure negotiation, influence and persuasion, Kevin now helps global organisations to improve performance, developing their teams ability to build exceptional client relationships and increase effectiveness and confidence in high pressure negotiations.  He and wider Crimson Peak team work across a variety of sectors, from the Elite Sports world, to organisations in Marketing, Technology Sector, Finance, Law, and the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Previous and current clients include: The FA, UEFA, The Premier League, UKSport, Sport England, RBR F1, Publicis Groupe, McCann WW, PwC, SAP, Havas WW, Eversheds Sutherland, Openwork, KPMG, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Bayer, Kellogg, Infinity Works (Accenture), Equal Experts, Interquest Group, DWF Group, United Nations, AKDN.

TOP TIPS

1. Questions don’t increase understanding. Listening does.  Talk less listen more.

It is a misconception that questions give us a deeper understanding of a person or a situation.  Too many questions can hijack the direction of a conversation and are often the result of listening to respond rather than listening to understand.  The questions we ask steer the conversation in the direction that is of interest to the person asking it, which can often be different to the direction the person answering wanted to go.  Questions need to be asked, the skillset however is to ask one question and then use active listening to completely explore that topic before asking another question.  Understanding comes from Listening Beneath the Words.

2. Hold the mirror up! Before you can influence persuade and motivate others, you have to understand yourself.

The most important step in becoming a more effective leader/communicator is to understand yourself.  In our working life we are required to work with and engage with people we find difficult.  Without a deep understanding of yourself you can allow those people to impact on your delivery.  Take the time to hold a mirror up to yourself and understand yourself.  What are my beliefs?  What are my Values? What is it that motivates me? What are my fears, my insecurities? What is it I like about other people?  What is it I dislike about other people?  In the workplace we cannot avoid dealing with challenging people, if we understand ourselves better we can better understand why we find them challenging.

3. Names are important, don’t waste them, use them tactically.

A person’s name is the one word that will always snap their attention back in the room.  It is natural for people to drift into an internal conversation and tune the room out.  If you have important messages to deliver and you want to make sure the other person hears them, use their name before the key message.  It will focus their attention back on you.  Overusing a name throughout a conversation desensitises that focus effect.

4. There is no cookbook approach.  Learn to be flexible and agile with your communication.

My way or the highway usually leads to the highway.  Having the ability to adjust your style to meet the needs of the audience or person you are speaking to is a critical skill to develop.  You can be the most knowledgeable person in the room, if you cannot communicate that knowledge in a way that lands with the other person you are not effect.  Everyone needs something slightly different to be motivated and engaged.  Having the ability to adjust your delivery to what that audience needs is what makes an effective communicator.

5. Communication is a skill like any other.  Consciously practice to get better at it.

The challenge of communication is remaining effective when the pressure is on and situation is critical.  Recognising communication and leadership are skills quite separate from the technical skills you have developed over a career is important.  Professional Athletes practice to get better.  If communication is your sport practice it.   Consciously thinking about and practicing your communication in low-impact situations helps embed the positive habits.  You are then more likely to maintain them and remain effective in high-impact situations.  “Train for excellence so under pressure you are at least good.”

Written by Kevin Taylor

Please note, the views expressed by the original article author are theirs alone and do not necessarily represent those of Washingtondowling Associates Ltd or The SHE Show and therefore we take no responsibility for the content or accuracy of this post.