Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Never Split the Difference summary
Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
14 mins
Table of Contents
Never Split the Difference
summarized in 6 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 6
Negotiation occurs in every aspect of life – and there’s more to it than rationality and intellect.
People tend to think of negotiation as something reserved for lawyers and corporate board rooms, but the truth is, humans negotiate in every part of life. In other words, while negotiating is what the police do when dealing with hostage situations, it’s also something that happens at work, at home, with your partner and with your kids.
In a simple sense, negotiation is just trying to get things to go your way; it’s having an interaction or communication with a specific outcome in mind. Whenever two or more people want something from one another, negotiation is taking place. Say you want a raise and your boss wants your salary to stay where it is. Or maybe you want your kids to go to bed by eight, but they want to stay up till ten.
OK, so negotiation is more common than most people think. But what makes for a successful negotiator?
It’s more than just mathematical logic and a keen intellect. That’s because humans aren’t always rational; they often fail to act on the basis of logic or reason. To make matters more complicated, humans aren’t always predictable either. People often act based on their animal nature, which is irrational, spontaneous and a bit wild.
That’s precisely what the psychologist Daniel Kahneman and the economist Amos Tversky found after years of study. Their findings challenged conventional thinking on negotiation. Here’s how.
In the 1970s, when negotiation first became defined as a field, it was based on the assumption that each individual acted rationally and to her own advantage. However, Tversky and Kahneman’s research discovered that humans are prone to what’s called cognitive bias, which makes them unconsciously irrational.
They even identified 150 different types of biases, including the so-called framing effect; this concept states that, when faced with the same options, people will make different choices depending on how the alternatives are framed.
Simply put, to be a successful negotiator, your approach has to take into account the complex nature of humankind. In the blinks that follow, you’ll learn how to do just that.
Want to see all full key ideas from Never Split the Difference?
Key ideas in Never Split the Difference
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is Never Split the Difference about?
Never Split the Difference (2016) is your guide to negotiation. Based on the extensive FBI work of Chris Voss, the authors offer up hands-on advice about how to negotiate your way to success, whether it’s in the office, the home, or a hostage stand-off.
Best quote from Never Split the Difference
(...) until you know what youre dealing with, you dont know what youre dealing with.
—Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
Who should read Never Split the Difference?
- Leaders and managers
- Workers in the market for a job or a raise
- Anyone with a spouse, partner or friend
Categories with Never Split the Difference
Books like Never Split the Difference
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked
Start growing with Blinkist now
26 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers