The power of persuasion is at play all the time and in all settings. Sometimes it is as simple as swaying a group of friends to agree with your restaurant preference, but other times there is far more at stake. Hostage negotiators and diplomats regularly find themselves in situations where their skills are needed to save lives and preserve stability. Most examples of persuasion fall somewhere between the two extremes, making it a critical skill for all business people to invest in.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Simon Horton. Simon is the founder of Negotiation Mastery, where he provides negotiating training and coaching for banks, law firms, global blue chip companies, and even hostage negotiators. He has also written several books including his latest title, just released this past spring and titled Change Their Mind: Six Steps to Persuade Anyone, Anytime.

In this conversation, Simon shares what he has learned in his experience as a negotiation coach and what he heard from the broad range of professionals he interviewed for his new book:

• Whether persuasion is a skill that most of us possess, and why we might want to improve