FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 13, 2005
THE NEW YORK POST MENTIONS
M.A.C.K. TATICS: THE SCIENCE OF SEDUCTION
MEETS THE ART OF HOSTAGE NEGOTIATION


Charmed & Dangerous
By Michael Kane

October 13, 2005—Young lady, put down the drink and slowly step away from your pants.

For all you single guys who've been shot down and snubbed by hot women, it's time to SWAT back.

Just pick up the pickup book M.A.C.K. Tactics: The Science of Seduction Meets the Art of Hostage Negotiation, co-written by smooth-talking crisis negotiator Christopher Curtis of the Las Vegas Police Department.

“Every encounter with a woman must be viewed as a negotiation,” Curtis writes, with co-author Rob Wiser, “the difference being instead of coaxing them off rooftops, you're coaxing them into romance. And remember, the negotiator is always in control.”

A member of the LVPD's Crisis Intervention Team and self-described “ladies man,” the 35-year-old Curtis has been doling out free dating advice at the precinct to divorced cops looking to get back in the game.

He decided to write a book after magazine writer Wiser approached him in a men's room at an Ultimate Fighting Championship in Vegas and complimented him on his smooth moves with women.

Curtis says the key to negotiation is quickly establishing trust.

“When a man approaches a woman, the woman's stress level naturally rises,” he says. “Thoughts and questions are running through her mind: Who is this guy? What does he want? That negativity is a barrier he must remove.”

Whether crime scene or bar scene, a negotiator identifies and empathizes with the target to build a bond. Curtis says the “biggest misconception about hostage negotiators is that we're great talkers, when really we're good listeners.”

Your goal is “conversation control”—to transport your target into a “comfort zone where the problems and evils of the world do not exist.”

Even the dreaded subject of ex-boyfriends can be used to the mack's advantage. Learning about men who've damaged them in the past—is one good way to “gain intel” on a babe so you can then present yourself as the opposite.

“But don't ever call her ex-boyfriend by his name,” Curtis warns. Instead, call him “that guy,” diminishing his significance.

“It's the same as in hostage negotiation, we never use the word 'gun.' Instead of saying, 'I need you to lower that gun,' you say, 'I need you to lower that thing.' Calling it a 'thing' diminishes the weapon's power.”

Another key to nookie negotiation is handling demands.

“Anything a woman asks for is really a demand,” says Curtis, who recommends rationing out rewards slowly without ever outright rejecting the demand.

Or, better still, just change the subject.

“The hostage-taker can ran all he wants about taking a 747 to Cuba, but the negotiator won't flat-out say no. Instead, he'll steer the conversation. 'Why do you want that plane?' he might ask.”

In dating, it's just more like, “Why do you want that appetizer of foie gras on brioche toast with cranberry chutney?”

Finally, Curtis says, when it's time to close the deal, play it cool.

“You never ask the hostage-taker, 'Are you ready to surrender?'” he says. “Instead, the negotiator cushions it with: 'Are you ready to come out now?'”

“Likewise, you don't ever say to a woman, 'Let's go back to my place.' Women don't want to seem 'easy.' Instead, suggest there's something you want to share with her, like a CD you talked about or a good bottle of wine.”

So, how has all this hands-on tactical training worked out for Curtis?

“I'll tell you, this book has actually been counterproductive to my dating life,” he says. “I usually don't even tell women about it. They think they'll just end up being another chapter.”

But the veteran hostage-negotiator is in it for the long run.

“It might take hours, even days, but the negotiator's focus and discipline never waver. He already knows how it's going to end; it's simply a matter of steering it there.”

For more information, contact Peter Miller, PMA Literary & Film Management, Inc. at 212.929.1222 or
PMA

 

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