Negotiate Anything How to Handle a Bully With Ken Sterling
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Apr 2, 2026 Ken Sterling, EVP at BigSpeak, USC professor, former lawyer and dealmaker known for the TILT framework. He recounts street-honed survival lessons and a life-saving leverage moment. Topics include staying calm under aggression, using questions to empower the other side, calling timeouts to defuse bullies, and ethical limits of persuasion.
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Running A Risky Distraction To Escape A Life Threat
- Ken Sterling survived having a gun to his head at 15 by spotting the attackers' weakness and offering to get heroin to distract them.
- He lured the girlfriend into waiting while the boyfriend escorted him to the car, then bolted and retrieved his dog and cash.
Trauma Builds A Calmer Negotiator
- Ken uses high-stress past experiences to bring calm and perspective to business crises.
- He reassures teams that most deal problems are survivable, reducing amygdala hijack and enabling clearer choices.
Give Choices To Defuse Angry Counterparts
- When the other side is triggered, label their emotion, present options, then let them choose to reduce defensiveness.
- Offer counter positions and invite them to pick, which restores their sense of agency.
