Former NZ Police lead crisis negotiator, author and resilience expert

Overview

Lance Burdett is one of New Zealand's foremost experts on crisis negotiation, resilience and mental health. Over a 22-year police career, including 13 years as a crisis negotiator and a term as National Advisor for the NZ Police Negotiation Teams, he worked some of the country's most high-profile incidents. Today he runs WARN International and is a sought-after speaker, author and coach.

Who is Lance Burdett? Lance was a builder until 35, when he joined the police. He rose to become NZ Police's lead crisis negotiator, training with the FBI in Washington and qualifying as a negotiator in three jurisdictions. He led negotiations in the Napier siege (Jan Molenaar), the Paremoremo prison hostage incident and many more. After his own battle with depression and burnout, he founded WARN International with his wife Donna and now teaches teams how to manage stress, anxiety and difficult conversations.

Career Highlights • 13-year career as a NZ Police crisis negotiator • Former National Advisor to the NZ Police Negotiation Teams • FBI-qualified and certified as a negotiator in three jurisdictions • Author of Behind the Tape (2018) and Anxiety is a Worry • Founder and CEO of WARN International • Master of Arts in Terrorism, Safety and Security

Key Speaking Themes • Crisis negotiation and de-escalating angry people • Personal resilience, anxiety and managing stress • Suicide prevention, intervention and postvention • Leadership communication and difficult conversations • Managing challenging customers and contact centre wellbeing

What Your Audience Will Gain Lance brings rare authority and quiet humour to topics most people avoid. Audiences leave with simple, science-backed techniques for de-escalation, sleep, stress and difficult conversations they can use the same day.

Ideal For • Leadership and HR conferences • Wellbeing, mental health and resilience events • Contact centre and customer service forums • Sales kick-offs and sales leadership offsites • Government, emergency services and frontline teams

Frequently Asked Questions...

What does Lance Burdett speak about? Crisis negotiation, resilience, anxiety, stress, suicide prevention, de-escalation and difficult conversations.

What is WARN International? The Wellness, Awareness, Resilience and Negotiation business Lance founded after leaving the police, offering keynotes, workshops and coaching.

What is Lance Burdett's background? 22 years with NZ Police, including 13 as a crisis negotiator and as National Advisor to the Police Negotiation Teams, plus FBI negotiator training.

What books has Lance Burdett written? Behind the Tape: life on the police frontline (2018) and Anxiety is a Worry, drawing on his frontline experience and research.

What major cases has Lance Burdett worked on? He led the negotiation team during the 2009 Napier siege with Jan Molenaar and was involved in the George Baker prison hostage negotiation, among many others.

Is Lance Burdett available for workshops? Yes. Lance delivers keynotes, workshops and training programmes on negotiation, communication and resilience for businesses, government and frontline teams.