I encourage my students to practice and train to negotiate. I don’t see why anyone who’s interested in negotiating anything—a car purchase, a raise request, a date with Miss Universe—wouldn’t want to take a few practice swings before stepping up to the plate. The best situation is to rehearse with someone else, as if you were practicing for a part in a play, but of course that’s not always possible for a one-man or -woman negotiating team. You know what? Do it by yourself. Go ahead. In the bathroom, the kitchen, the office—just do it. Call it role playing, instead of talking to yourself, and it’ll feel a lot more natural.
I believe that cassette and digital voice recorders are among the most helpful tools for training hostage negotiators. During my classes, I record students role playing and give them their own tapes to take home. Most students cannot believe the voice on the tape is them.
One caution here: If you do record your training sessions, take it easy on yourself. Listen to what you said, learn from how you reacted, make mental notes about your presentation style, but don’t be too hard on yourself. We are our own worst critics, especially when we hear ourselves on tape. We always believe we could have done better.