1# Hostage Negotiator: Listening Mistakes Costing You Trust, Deals and Influence | R. Mullender

Thriving Minds with Alberto Zandi · Apr 23, 2026 · 1h 7m

This week Alberto sat down with Richard Mullender, the renowned former hostage negotiator and communication expert, to unpack what communication really is, why most people do it badly, and how better listening can transform negotiation, trust, persuasion, leadership, and relationships.

Richard spent decades in policing, with the final part of his career leading Scotland Yard's hostage and crisis negotiation, where the stakes were often life and death. In this conversation, he explains why negotiation is not really about talking more or sounding clever, but about understanding what the other…