Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman Expert Negotiator: How to Stay in Control in Hard Conversations
48 snips
Mar 10, 2026 
Kwame Christian, negotiation expert and founder of the American Negotiation Institute, teaches conflict resolution and persuasive communication. He explores staying calm in hard conversations, handling workplace and home conflicts, practicing conflict skills like fitness, managing toxic high performers, and using curiosity and humility to build stronger relationships.
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Lower Emotions Before Persuasion
- Lower emotional temperature first before persuading; build conditions for persuasion before presenting solutions.
- Kwame warns a triggered person is unpersuadable, so earn level-headed dialogue by using conflict-resolution skills first.
Set Outcomes And Be Willing To Walk Away
- Before confronting a toxic high performer, clarify your goal, decide acceptable outcomes, and be willing to walk away.
- Kwame instructs leaders to shift from fear of losing revenue to detective curiosity, then give the employee a fork-in-the-road choice.
Renegotiate How You Talk Before Debating
- Renegotiate conversation rules up front when a colleague dominates: request mutual respect and no interruptions.
- Kwame suggests saying you respect their passion but ask for an agreement to listen without interrupting before debating.