Nigel Taberner
- Former hostage negotiator with over 130 successful resolutions.
- Internationally recognized for training negotiators in the UK, Finland, Australia and the FBI.
- Specialist in effective listening and communication strategies for leaders and teams.
- Passionate speaker known for engaging storytelling and practical insights.
Nigel Taberner's videos
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Languages:Â
- English
Nigel Taberner's 2024 biography
Nigel Taberner: Expert in Crisis Negotiation and Communication
What would you say to a man holding a gun to his partner’s head?
Very few people are faced with having to make those life-or-death decisions, but for 10 years that was the crazy world that Nigel Taberner lived in as a hostage negotiator.
During that time, he successfully resolved more than 130 high-risk armed sieges, suicide threats, international negotiations and kidnaps.
Thankfully, not one person died in any of the incidents Nigel attended. He was a member of the national training team that created a new generation of negotiators in the UK, Finland, Australia and the FBI that continue to save lives around the world.
As a sought-after speaker, Nigel now lifts the lid on his time as a hostage negotiator and reveals transferable skills from that largely hidden world, to help leaders and teams improve performance, well-being and outcomes through adopting the principles of truly effective listening, communication and influence.
Nigel realised very early on in his career as a negotiator, that many of the skills that he was using were also critical in the effective running of any business or organisation, and he shares his experiences about communicating under pressure, negotiating when you have nothing to give, and listening like a life depends on it, with today’s business leaders.
Nigel is passionate about what he does and delivers his speeches with energy. He thoughtfully explains valuable insights from a world that is rarely seen, taking audiences on a hair-raising journey, using jaw-dropping stories, combined with humour and an authenticity that both enthrals and educates.
He has worked with a wide range of companies including CBRE, Societe Generale, SpecSavers, Lego, Holland & Barratt, Cosworth, Manchester Airport Group and EY Lane4.
Nigel served for 30 years with the Greater Manchester Police. His wide-ranging operational career saw him rise from a police constable in Moss Side in the early 1990s, to the rank of Detective Inspector, responsible for counter-terrorism policing operations.
Nigel Taberner's 2024 talks & topics
Negotiating when you have nothing to give away
This is Nigel’s signature and most in demand speech. Through stories, he explores the skills and theories used by hostage negotiators that allows them to successfully resolve high-risk incidents, when they are negotiating from a position of weakness, with no leverage and nothing to give away.
If that is something that you can relate to as an organisation, then this is the speech that you need to book!
Listening like a life depends on it
What is the key skill of a hostage negotiator?
Is it smart talking? Jedi mind tricks?
The ability to hold their nerve in crazy, fast moving situations?
In this session, Nigel explores the real hostage negotiator superpower… the ability to connect, develop trust, get people talking and influence them using elite level listening.
How much information, how much business, are you and your team missing out on because of a lack of listening?
Lessons from the edge of chaos
Have you ever wondered what skills hostage negotiators use to bring life or death situations to a safe conclusion… and how those skills, honed in the rarely seen world of hostage negotiation can help you and your team? Then wonder no more….
In this speech, Nigel lifts the lid off life as a hostage negotiator, telling you no only what they do, but how they do it… and how it can help your organisation communicate and negotiate better.
Negotiating when you have nothing to offer
Managing conflict and difficult people
Influence and persuasion
Critical decision making
Understanding and getting the best out of your tea
Nigel Taberner's 2024 speaking fees
- United Kingdom
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