Lauren Graham Took A Class On Hostage Negotiation, How Does It Work In Real-Life Situations?

Gilmore Girls fame actress Lauren Graham, who received multiple accolades for the famous WB/CW series, stopped by “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and shared about taking MasterClass courses for things she wouldn’t normally use in daily life, including tortilla making and hostage negotiating. Read on to learn more about Hostage Negotiation.

A Class For Hostage Negotiation…

Kelly Clarkson and Lauren Graham, 55 indulged in some meaningful conversations on “The Kelly Clarkson Show”. The host asked Lauren Graham, “Is it true that you took a class on “hostage negotiation”?” The “Parenthood” star revealed that she belongs to “MasterClass”. She said, “You can subscribe to it, and it’s all these experts on everything.”

She said, “I tried to take something that I wouldn’t normally use in daily life, and one of them was Hostage Negotiating.” Kelly surprisingly said, “I hope it doesn’t come in handy.” On this, Lauren gushed that she is a handy person to have if things go wrong on summer vacation.

From tortilla-making to hostage negotiating, Lauren utilised her vacation in a rather different way. About hostage negotiation, Lauren revealed that the person who reached hostage negotiating is exactly who you’d cast to teach. She imitated her teacher, who says: Listen, this is how you gonna do when you trying to talk him down off a hill…I don’t know. Kelly and Lauren laughed over his way of teaching.

What Is Hostage Negotiation?

Hostage Negotiation/Crisis negotiation is an effective law enforcement technique used to “communicate with people who are threatening violence, including barricaded subjects, stalkers, criminals attempting to escape after a botched robbery, and hostage-takers.”

To be precise, former police psychologist and hostage negotiator George A. Kohlrieser, explained it by stating: “The key to negotiation success is to build a relationship by creating an emotional connection. When someone feels you are honestly interested in them, they will be much more willing to connect and bond. Out of that bond, negotiation works.”

FYI, hostage negotiation is related to the Behavioral Change Stairway Model, which was developed by the FBI’s hostage negotiation unit. Well, hostage negotiation is not only meant for barricaded criminals, it also applied to any form of disagreement. It includes 5 steps to getting someone to see your point of view and change what they’re doing:

• Active Listening
• Empathy
• Rapport
• Influence
• Behavioural Change

If you’re looking to take up this interesting MasterClass, I’d suggest former FBI lead hostage negotiator Chris Voss, who teaches you communication skills and strategies to help you get more of what you want every day. The fee starts at $15/month (billed annually) for all classes and sessions. You can check out one of these classes here.