With 30 years as a Metropolitan police officer and the last 10 years spent as an international hostage and crisis negotiator Nicky Perfect has many stories to tell about the art of communication. Nicky worked on the elite New Scotland Yard Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit, becoming the Deputy Head of Unit in 2016. She has travelled the world teaching negotiation and working with Her Majesties Government on international operations (kidnap, crime in action), and had the privilege of talking to hundreds or people in crisis and sharing in their stories. Nicky spent many years as the Director of UK Training (the first female director) of the National Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Course. She was responsible for designing and training police officers across the UK and assessing their capability as negotiators, focusing on how to apply confident communication skills to difficult situations. On retiring from the police Nicky purchased her local garage and converted the car showroom into a coffee shop and gym keeping the garage workshop, employing 11 local people and creating a community hub. She has her own consultancy business specialising in communication and negotiation coaching and training.. Clients include Baker Mackenzie, Smith Nephew, Unilever, College of Policing, Police Now, Southampton University, NHS, Anchor, Princes Trust as well as working as a trainer and facilitator for Elevate, Symbia and ACCIPIO Over the years Nicky learned the skills and processes to create a system of building trust quickly in very difficult circumstances. Her mission is to share those lessons she learnt as a negotiator to help others improve their communication /negotiation skills and ultimately their relationships in life and work. Nicky is now working with the publisher Harper Collins on her memoir as a Hostage and Crisis Negotiator which will be released in the summer of 2023. In the 2022 New Year’s Honours List, she was awarded the British Empire Medal for “meritorious service to the community,” recognising her work in the community, specifically during the pandemic.