| Sumario: | During the majority of critical incidents, negotiators confront subjects who are motivated primarily by emotional needs and manifest predominantly expressive behavior, and such crises can be effectively resolved using the technique of active listening. Expressive subjects are in a state of crisis that impairs their normal ability to handle stress and constricts and disorganizes their thinking, making it difficult for them to deal logically with their problems and exercise good judgment. Negotiators can use active listening to demonstrate empathy and understanding and to build a rapport with the subject, which might allow them to influence the subject's actions by providing nonviolent problem-solving alternatives. Such techniques can allow negotiators to talk an expressive subject into surrendering largely by listening. The importance of understanding the origins of the crisis, how to break down a subject's defenses, and the seven techniques that constitute the core elements of the active listening approach adopted by the FBI are discussed.
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