Rapport

Rapport

The Four Ways to Read People

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Get what you want from even the most difficult characters


All of us have to deal with difficult people. Whether we’re asking our neighbour to move a fence or our boss for a pay rise, we can struggle to avoid arguments and get what we want.

Laurence and Emily Alison are world leaders in forensic psychology, and they specialise in the most difficult interactions imaginable: criminal interrogations. They advise and train the police, security agencies, the FBI and the CIA on how to deal with extremely dangerous suspects when the stakes are high.

After 30 years’ work – and unprecedented access to 2,000 hours of terrorist interrogations – they have developed a ground-breaking model of interpersonal communication. This deceptively simple approach to handling any encounter works as well for teenagers as it does for terrorists. Now it’s time to share it with the world.

Rapport reveals that every interaction follows four styles: Control (the lion), Capitulate (the mouse), Confront (the Tyrannosaur) and Co-operate (the monkey). As soon as you understand these styles and your own goals you can shape any conversation at will. And you’ll be closer to the real secret: how to create instant rapport.

© Emily and Laurence Alison 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Reviews

  • Laurence Alison is one of my academic heroes. He does what every writer longs to do. He makes the difficult clear – without losing his rigour.
    Malcolm Gladwell

About the authors

Emily Alison

Emily Alison is behavioural advisor and clinical supervisor to organisations working with domestic violence; her programmes are now used by over 100 organisations.
Learn More

Laurence Alison

Laurence Alison is the author of Rapport, professor of psychology at the University of Liverpool and the Director of Ground Truth. He has an international reputation and is widely published in relation to his work on decision-making in high-stake environments, interviewing and interrogation, as well as prioritisation and detection of sex offenders. In 2021 he was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list for his work on high-risk decision-making.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more