#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Jen J Danna!

Good Morning from Troy, Alabama!

Well, we're off to the Dixie Majors World Series championship game again this year and again we play Arkansas! It's been a wild ride - and a busy one. Monday, I received notification that the audio files for My Heart Weeps had been uploaded to ACX and are awaiting my approval, so I've added proofing those to my list of things to get done this week.

Love my life!

But enough about me.

Jen J Danna has been in our spotlight before, but it has been a few years so please give her a huge, warm WELCOME as she shares with us some very interesting information....

Things We Could All Learn From Hostage Negotiation

EXIT STRATEGY’s Gemma Capello is a hostage negotiator with the NYPD. Hostage Negotiators are a special breed—men and women who are not only controlled and patient, but creative, quick witted, empathetic, and flexible. Above all, they are trained that the most important thing they can do is listen. In a world where we often spend too much time talking, we could all learn something from hostage negotiators.

One of the most important tools in a negotiator’s toolbox is something called “active listening”. To connect with a hostage taker or suspect, they use a number of techniques so the person they are negotiating with understands they are heard:

• Emotional labelling—a statement of the expressed emotions: “You sound…” You seem…”

• Paraphrasing—a rewording of the suspect’s expressed thoughts or feelings.

• Mirroring—repetition of the last few words spoken to encourage more information.

• Effective pauses—pausing after important information for emphasis; alternately pause because many suspects are uncomfortable with silence and will talk to fill it.

• Minimal encouragers—phrases like “Tell me more”, “Really?”, or “Okay” tell the suspects someone is listening with interest.

• “I” messages—a counter to verbal attacks or counterproductive behaviour to bring the discussion back onto even footing: “I feel…”, “When you…”

• Open-ended questions—questions that can’t be answered by a simple “Yes” or “No” (which could then stop the discussion) and require a more in-depth response to draw out information.
Additionally, as part of active listening, negotiators are trained to listen specifically for the emotion underlying the content because sometimes a suspect’s words may say one thing, but the emotion behind the message speaks to something entirely different.

In our own lives, we’re not going to be dealing with high-stress, life-and-death situations like a hostage standoff, but there are times when we’re negotiating for something we want or need, or are in important discussions with loved ones. In these cases, active listening skills can improve our dealings and, eventually, outcomes because sometimes, what’s really needed is for us to be quiet, to listen, and to let someone else speak. And that’s how compromises can be made so both sides can claim victory.

A scientist specializing in infectious diseases, Jen J. Danna works as part of a dynamic research group at a cutting-edge Canadian university. However, her true passion lies in indulging her love of the mysterious through her writing.

With Ann Vanderlaan, she writes two series. Under Danna and Vanderlaan, they craft suspenseful crime fiction with a realistic scientific edge. Their five Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries include DEAD, WITHOUT A STONE TO TELL IT; NO ONE SEES ME ’TILL I FALL; A FLAME IN THE WIND OF DEATH; TWO PARTS BLOODY MURDER; and LAMENT THE COMMON BONES.

Under the joint pseudonym of Sara Driscoll, they write the FBI K-9s mysteries series, starring search-and-rescue team Meg Jennings and her black lab, Hawk. The series includes LONE WOLF and BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, STORM RISING, and NO MAN’S LAND. The fifth book in the series, LEAVE NO TRACE, will release in January 2020.

Jen is also the author of the upcoming NYPD Negotiators thriller series, with the first book, EXIT STRATEGY, releasing in August 2020. The second book in the series, SHOT CALLER, will release in 2021, and the third book, LOCKDOWN, will release in 2022.

Jen lives near Toronto, Ontario with her husband, two daughters, and three rescued cats, and is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada. You can reach her through the contact page on her website or by email at jenjdanna@gmail.com.

Connect with Jen on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram

Exit Strategy can be found at  Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Indigo, Target, and Walmart.

Check out Jen's previous spotlights HERE and HERE.

Thanks for sharing such intriguing information with us, Jen! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new release.

Hope you enjoyed the post today, friends and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT