This presentation is designed to offer a number of operational strategies, tricks, tidbits and suggestions that can be incorporated into your crisis negotiations arsenal. The intent is to assist you in taking your negotiation skill to the next level. Most conversations we have with a subject in crisis contain a request for a behavior change and therefore the application of influence is a critical skill for the effective negotiator. The first half of the presentation will offer an in-depth exploration of the concept of influence and how we, as negotiators, can use verbal strategies to influence people to move in a positive direction. During the second half of the presentation, a number of "lessons learned" will be provided with a view to further enhancing negotiation effectiveness. These concepts will include ways to maximize operational effectiveness, recruiting and selection suggestions for identifying and selecting new team members and training considerations. The session will also include information regarding communication strategies, third-party recordings, subject classification, indicators of progress and situation reports. The intent behind this presentation is to offer a series of lessons learned for both the seasoned as well as negotiators who are new to the craft.