EDWARDSVILLE - A former FBI-trained hostage negotiator Scott Harvey stressed the importance of personal relationships in anything from business to serious hostage situations this week at an event in Edwardsville.
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Harvey spoke at the speaker series at the Outlet Event Center in Edwardsville.
Harvey said he spent 20 years as a hostage negotiator and Public Information Officer and said his talk was focused on communication - specifically, how to apply the tactics he learned to the corporate business world.
“People think in a crisis that it’s complicated strategies that work - it’s not,” Harvey said. “It’s very simple communication strategies that can solve complex problems … it’s not difficult, but you have to communicate your way through any situation that you find yourself in.”
No matter the situation, when emotions are high, he said it’s best to wait to bring logical solutions to the table until the emotional tension has calmed down.
“I love traveling the country, I love connecting with people,” Harvey said, noting he did that to some extent as a hostage negotiator and D.A.R.E. officer. “This allows me to expand my influence to connect with people all over the country … if we can communicate our way through any situation, we’re more valuable not only at work but at home.”
The Outlet is attached to Edison’s Entertainment Complex in Edwardsville. Matt McSparin, President and CEO of Edison’s, said he aims for this to be a quarterly speaker series and the next event is already lined up - Tim Schmidt is the speaker slated for Jan. 24.
A video from the first speaker event is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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