Never Split the Difference— pt. 2

I moved to 🍔Hamburg, Germany | Persuasion, Persuasion, Persuasion

September 1st, 2022: Greetings from Hamburg, Germany

After Munich, I stayed at my girlfriend’s apartment in Ulm (Southern Germany) for a week. But today, I left for Hamburg.

No photo today because I just moved into my new apartment. I’m renting from a Polish lawyer, Kamila, who is going to Belgium for 3 months. Then I’ll have to find a new place again. But for now, life’s good!

Short Video from Munich:

Never Split the Difference pt. 2

Last week, we cracked open Never Split the Difference by Former FBI negotiator Chris Voss.

If you want a refresher or haven’t read it yet, you can find part 1 here:

Never Split the Difference pt. 1

This was the most responses, emails, comments, and even LinkedIn messages I’ve ever gotten from a newsletter, so I’m guessing some people found it valuable.

Here’s part 2:

Admit Your Flaws

We ended with an example from Chris at school.

On the first day of school, Chris joked with his students:

“Yes, it’s going to suck if you come up and role-play in front of the class.”

But by labeling their fears, he diminished them and created a sense of trust.

Most people try to hide their flaws.

They think people will judge them.

But in my experience and according to Chris, it’s almost always better to be open about your flaws because it creates trust and makes you likable.

And all the great copywriters (written salesmen) know this and use this:
(in green)

Example from Amazing Money Making Secret of A Desperate Nerd in Ohio

How I might use this to sell Twitter ghostwriting:

Honestly, writing on Twitter is fairly simple.

You know, it doesnt take that much brains and most people just re-use the same templates anyways. To be fair, you could probably write just as well as me.

But you’re not hiring me to write on Twitter.

You’re hiring me to save yourself 15+ hours a week. You’re hiring me to put your content creation on autopilot so you don’t lose the mental bandwidth. Your hiring me to bring clients in the door. You’re hiring me because of my deep connections in the creator economy… and so on

Now that’s a little exaggerated but see how the end becomes much more powerful when prefaced with extreme candor?

See Alex Hormozi:

Chris’ recommendation:

So before you negotiate with someone, list out all the possible negatives they might say and say them first.

It’s bold, but I like it.

And according to Chris, this is the tactic defense lawyers use in court:

“My client was caught at the scene with a gun, charged with murder, and refused to cooperate with the police, but today, I’m going to prove to you beyond resonable doubt why she is innocent.”

Do you like this series?

Please let me know in the comments:

I might write about this book again next week if you're still interested.

Let me know.

That’s all I have time for today because it’s 11:12 pm here and tomorrow is my first day of school. I’m teaching English at a German high school for 1 more year. Can’t wait to meet the kids.

Best,
Connor