1. ACTIVE LISTENING FOR NEGOTIATORS
Detective Mizel Garcia
Crisis Intervention Team
Special Investigations Division

2. “I have three demands or I’ll kill the boy!”

3. Negotiators assess the situation from next door

4. Negotiator initiates contact

5. Negotiations conducted

6. Negotiations continue

7. Negotiations concluded

8. The definition of a crisis is any situation in which a person’s ability to cope is exceeded
Barricaded subjects
High risk suicide
Domestic violence
Mental illness
Substance abuse
Violence in the workplace

9. Stages of a Crisis Pre-Crisis or initial stage Crisis Stage
Adaptation Stage
Resolution Stage

10. Definition and Purpose of Crisis Intervention
The short term, time-
limited intervention,
designed to re-establish
a person’s equilibrium
and to solve an
immediate problem
Diffuse intense emotions
Buy time
Establish rapport
Return subject to normal functioning level
Gain intelligence

11. Recognition and understanding are the first weapons in dealing with the chaos of a crisis
Logic and reasoning are clouded by elevated emotions often leading to irrational behavior
Frequently associated with a surge of adrenaline creating heightened levels of anxiety
Situation is perceived to be a threat to the emotional or psychological needs of a person

12. (Continued) Crisis occurs when usual coping strategies fail
Stress tends t be cumulative wherein multiple stressors may lead to a crisis event
Subjects in crisis generally turn inward rather than seeking out support systems and will feel isolated
Generally a precipitating event within the last hours

13. Types of unexpected events that influence crisis
Divorce
Loss of a job
Sickness, Injury, or death
Deterioration of mental health
Loss of health
Demotion or loss of status
Interruption of plan

14. People communicate on two levels
Content- The simple facts (the story)
Emotions- the emotional reaction to the facts (feelings about circumstances)

15. Listening for Emotions
Listen for the emotions surrounding the content.
Emotional reaction and subsequent behavior make the situation a crisis, not the facts of the situation.
How a person feels about the situation will strongly influence their behavior.
Controlling the subject’s emotions will help control the subject’s behavior.

16. Active Listening
A crucial skill that is essential to the successful resolution of a hostage/barricade incident
A basic building block in the establishment of rapport
An intelligence tool
A useful technique for de-escalation

17. Levels of Listening
Non-listening- actively ignoring the speaker, e.g. panhandlers, teenagers with parents, and spouse during football game
Passive listening- hearing the , but perhaps not the meaning, e.g. car radio, kids fighting at home

18. Levels of Listening
Listening- hearing the words and the meaning behind them, e.g. discussion with a spouse or child in reference to a significant event
Active listening- hearing the speaker’s words and the meaning behind them. Helping the speaker reach new levels of understanding, e.g. listening to a friend or loved one who is in crisis

19. Seven Active Listening Skills
Emotional labeling
Paraphrasing
Reflecting or mirroring
Effective pauses
Minimal encouragers
“I” messages

20. Emotional labeling
Intent of this skill is to respond to the emotion heard in the subject’s voice rather than content
Identify the feeling by using… “You sound…” “You seem…” “I hear…”
Be aware of missing emotions
Listen for conflicts in feelings expressed

21. Paraphrasing Summarizes in your words what you were just told
Creates empathy and rapport because it demonstrates you heard and understand
Clarifies content, checks perception, and highlights important issues
“Are you telling me…” What you are saying is…”

22. Reflecting / Mirroring
Repeating back the last word or phrase
Gives feedback that is very exact
Asks for more intelligence without guiding the direction
“I did it just because” “Because?”

23. Effective Pauses An effective pause is silence
Use immediately before or after saying something meaningful
Most people are not comfortable with silence and feel they must talk
Can be used effectively when a subject is trying to psyche you out

24. Minimal Encouragers Indicate your presence “Uh-huh” “OK”
Do not interfere with the normal flow of a conversation
Builds rapport and encourages the other subject to continue talking to you

25. “I” Messages
Enables you to let the subject know how they are making you feel, why we feel that way and what they can do to remedy the situation
Conveys concern in a non-threatening manner and does not put the subject on the immediate defensive

26. “I” Messages (Cont’d) I feel… the emotion you are feeling
When you… the person’s behavior
Because… your reason
“I feel disappointed when you make threats,
because I thought we were making progress”

27. Open-Ended Questions
Questions that cannot be answered with a yes or no
Usually begin with words like “what”, “when”, “how”, or “where”
Help get the conversation started and focus on the subject’s feelings
Close-ended questions make it seem like an interrogation and makes rapport difficult

28. Barriers to Active Listening
Arguing
Criticizing
Jumping to conclusions
Pacifying
Derailing
Moralizing
Name Calling
Ordering

29. Empathy versus Sympathy
Empathy implies identification with the understanding of another’s feelings and thereby builds rapport and trust.
Sympathy implies pity.

30. Initial Contact
Use your name, not your rank, and your agency affiliation
Use the suspect’s name if possible
Minimize distractions
Relax, breathe deeply, be calm
Think through what you’re going to say, take your time; speak slowly and calmly

31. Initial Contact (cont’d)
Use a concerned tone, project genuineness and sincerity
Don’t forget to ask him to come out, give up, let people go, and ask early on.

32. Good Openings “Tell me what seems to be the problem?”
“What has happened in there?”
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Tell me what got you into this situation”
“Are you ok, is everyone else also ok?”
Ask the question, then BE QUIET

33. Helpful Hints Be who you are Don’t lie
Speak with subject’s on their level
Be firm
You won’t be able to establish rapport with everyone