This was first developed by the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Unit and includes a five-stage method to changing someone else’s behaviour: active listening, empathy, rapport, influence, and behaviour change.
- Active listening: listen to the person you are in conflict with
- Empathy: deep listening will help you build empathy
- Rapport: when people feel understood they are more likely to trust us, which enables us to build rapport
- Influence: this closer relationship is a necessary baseline in order to encourage someone to listen to our perspective
- Behaviour change: by following these first four steps, you are much more likely than not to change someone’s behaviour
