Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

outside the prison. Once he’d walked past the final
perimeter, he’d get into the paddy wagon and be transferred
to jail. There, he’d use the walkie-talkie to call the guys
back in the prison and say, essentially, “They didn’t kick
my ass.” And they’d know it was okay to come out just like
he did, one at a time.
After some haggling, the inmates agreed with the plan
and the first inmate comes out. It starts off great. He walks
past the federal zone, then the SWAT zone, and then he
makes it to the outer perimeter. But just as he’s about to
climb into the paddy wagon, some guy sees the walkie-
talkie and says, “What the hell are you doing with that?”
and confiscates it before sending the guy off to the jail.
The inmates back in the prison start to freak out because
their buddy hasn’t called. The one with the other walkie-
talkie calls the negotiators and starts yelling, “Why didn’t he
call? They’re kicking his ass. We told you!” He starts
talking about cutting off a hostage’s finger, just to make
sure the negotiators know the inmates are for real.
Now it’s the negotiators who are freaking out. They
sprint to the perimeter and start screaming at everyone. It’s
life and death at stake. Or at least an amputated finger.
Finally, fifteen nail-biting minutes later, this SWAT guy
comes striding up, all proud of himself. “Some idiot gave
this dude a radio,” he says, and sort of smiles as he hands
the negotiators the walkie-talkie. The negotiators barely stop
themselves from slugging the guy before they tear off to the
jail to have the first inmate call in.