The Persuasion Occasion

The Emotions of Negotiation with Attia Qureshi

David and Jasmine discuss the emotions of negotiating with Attia Qureshi, negotiation expert and author of Never Settle. Attia is a negotiation expert who has advised Fortune 500 executives, taught at institutions including MIT and the University of Michigan, and worked with leaders navigating complex, high-stakes conversations. She brings a practical and human-centered approach to negotiation by combining proven strategies with emotional awareness and relationship-building.

Attia shows how successful negotiation is not just about winning an argument but understanding people, managing emotions, and building trust. She explains how preparation, curiosity, reciprocity, and small everyday interactions can strengthen relationships and improve outcomes. Attia also shares how anyone can build negotiation skills through practice, resilience, and the confidence to ask for more.

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David and Jasmine discuss the emotions of negotiating with Max Bevilacqua, founder and chief negotiating officer of Mindful Negotiating, a consulting and training firm for high-powered leaders. Max has trained Fortune 100 executives, U.S. Army Special Forces, and legal professionals, and he has taught negotiation at Harvard Law School and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He brings a highly relational and human-centered perspective to persuasion and advocacy. Max shows how influence often comes through listening, curiosity, emotional awareness, and the ability to de-escalate tension. He describes how successful negotiators are not simply skilled arguers but people who understand how emotions, identity, trust, and human connection influence outcomes.

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David and Jasmine speak with Gitane De Silva, formerly Alberta’s senior representative to the United States and CEO of the Canada Energy Regulator, with deep experience in international negotiations and Canada–U.S. relations. Gitane describes how international diplomatic negotiations are unique but also how the techniques and strategies share many similarities with legal and business negotiations. 

The conversation breaks down how complex negotiations work, from trade agreements to energy policy, and the level of precision, patience, and stakeholder alignment required. It also explores the shift toward more protectionist, country-first strategies and how that is changing global dealmaking.A core theme is that successful negotiation comes down to trust, emotional control, and understanding the other side’s motivations. Practical techniques are shared for staying composed, avoiding escalation, and finding common ground in difficult conversations. 

The episode also highlights how cultural differences influence negotiation styles and why adapting language and perspective is key to influencing outcomes. At its core, persuasion is human, and those who can connect, listen, and stay grounded tend to achieve better results.

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David and Jasmine speak with Andy Prisco, a nationally recognized expert in anger, aggression, and violence response who founded Jumpstart Mastery. Andy trains law enforcement, mental health professionals, firefighters, and others in dealing with difficult and dangerous personalities. He shares how years working in psychosocial rehab shaped his practical approach to crisis intervention and what actually works when emotions spike fast. He outlines his structured method, VDSP: Validate, Defer, Suggest, Prompt, explaining why real de-escalation relies on simple, sequential steps.

Andy shows how deliberately “starting with V” helps you regulate your own reaction while lowering the other person’s defensiveness. His agreement-first phrasing (“It sounds like…” or “I hear you…”) opens space to reframe the issue and steer someone toward safer behavior with concise suggestions and clear prompts.Andy applies these ideas to litigation, where aggressive opposing counsel and discovery fights can easily trigger anger. He breaks down how outrage disrupts judgment, why self-regulation is built through repetition, and how leading with validation often produces steadier interactions and better outcomes.

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David and Jasmine sit down with Ken Lopez, founder of Persuadius and a veteran litigation consultant known for blending law, psychology, and visual communication. Ken shares how a dislike of law school and an early obsession with computer animation led him to create trial graphics in the mid-1990s, eventually building A2L Consulting and later launching Persuadius to continue that work with a deeper focus on storytelling. Ken outlines what actually persuades in court: simple narratives, clear themes, and stories shaped around a hero’s journey rather than a strict timeline. He explains why fear-based arguments often overpower logic, how the “reptile” strategy works on both sides of the bar, and why bullet-heavy slides undermine comprehension. The conversation wraps with Ken’s take on AI, evolving juror expectations, and why speed, clarity, and strong visuals will matter even more in the years ahead.

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