Notes from the floor.

More on the way, published honestly, on a real cadence — not a fake library.

An ongoing series

The Sales Psychology Files

Modern sales psychology, especially the reverse-psychology techniques that actually work — reactance, disqualification, strategic "no," anchoring, autonomy — explained honestly, including where they fail and where they curdle into manipulation. Numbered on purpose: this one keeps going.

1. 01 What Reverse Psychology Actually Is — the real mechanism (reactance), and why most sales advice gets it wrong.
2. 02 The Take-Away Close — how removing an offer can make someone want it more, if the removal is real.
3. 03 Reverse Psychology's Evil Twin — the exact line between honest psychology and manipulation.
4. 04 The Psychology of "No" — why letting a buyer say no gets you to yes faster.
5. 05 Disqualification as a Sales Weapon — why "this might not be for you" builds trust.
6. 06 Anchoring in Reverse — why the number you don't say matters more than the one you do.
7. 07 The Autonomy Trap — why "you don't have to decide today" closes more than any deadline.
8. 08 Mirroring the Objection — reverse psychology as a listening tool, not a trick.
9. 09 The Paradox of Choice in Negotiation — why offering less sometimes wins more.
10. 10 When Reverse Psychology Fails — the buyers who see it coming, and what to do instead.

More entries added as the series continues — published honestly, on a real cadence.

A companion series

The Never Split The Difference Files

Ten essays, one per chapter of Chris Voss's Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It — mirroring, labeling, calibrated questions, the Ackerman model, the Black Swan — explained in my own words, applied to sales and hiring conversations, not the book's own hostage-negotiation stories.

1. 01 Why "Win-Win" Isn't the Goal — what an FBI hostage negotiator knows about rooms.
2. 02 The Cheapest Rapport Tool in Negotiation — mirroring.
3. 03 Labeling — naming an emotion out loud without agreeing to fix it.
4. 04 Why "No" Is Safer Than "Yes" — and gets you there faster.
5. 05 The Two Words That Actually Close — "that's right," not "you're right."
6. 06 Bending Reality Honestly — anchors, frames, and loss.
7. 07 Give Up Control to Get It — calibrated questions.
8. 08 The Handshake Isn't the Deal — guaranteeing what happens after yes.
9. 09 Bargaining Hard Without Being an Adversary — the Ackerman model.
10. 10 The Black Swan — what the room isn't telling you.

Read alongside The Sales Psychology Files above — same rules: named theory only, never invented statistics.