The Power of the Legal Pad

Timothy Chester

I attended a negotiation seminar led by Chris Voss several months ago. As a daily negotiator, I’ve always been fascinated by the craft. I studied Chester Karrass’s structured bargaining methods, but it was Chris Voss’s emphasis on tactical empathy, the idea that listening attentively is more effective than speaking cleverly, that truly left a lasting impression on me. ......I’m not very good at it, but I’m really trying. ......He started the seminar with a simple exercise: write “multitasking is good” and number each letter. While we did that, he kept talking. Most remembered what he said. Then, he had us write each letter and its number together. This time, almost no one remembered what he said. He explained that constant switching between small cognitive steps made it hard to listen deeply. That moment changed my work. Voss made clear that we think we’re efficient when we bring devices into conversations, but we miss the moment. Presence builds trust, not productivity. In today’s dispatch, we reflect on how that insight led us back to pen and paper, not out of nostalgia, but because it keeps one focused, grounded, and engaged.