OODA is pleased to offer this unique online training event with OODA Expert Jen Hoar.  OODA Network Members receive 50% off using this coupon code OODA-HUMINT

Training Date:  July 23, 2020 at 13:00 p.m. (EST)

Registration Link: Master the Skills of Spies, Investigators and Journalists

Course Description:

What if you could land new clients, build relationships with investors and partners, and develop new contacts simply by asking more, and saying less? Add the art of inquiring to your skills repertoire from a journalist-turned-corporate investigator, who has leveraged the potent act of asking, and listening, to turn strangers into sources and contacts into clients.

This business-specific human intelligence training will teach you how to identify and contact knowledgeable people – prospective clients, partners and subject matter experts, for instance – and harness unique insight from purposeful conversations with them. You’ll learn how a shift, from presenting to asking, will transform how you cultivate leads, build relationships and consummate deals.

The skills and techniques you learn in this course will help you to advance knowledge of your customers and users, the problem your business aims to solve, and your competition and position in the marketplace. 

The training includes a presentation and lively Q&A, covering how to: 

• Conduct effective in-person, phone and email outreach to new contacts, leads and potential collaborators 
• Harness open source research to identify new sources and contacts
• Lead a productive interview: ask meaningful and open-ended questions to solicit and elicit information you can apply to later interactions 
• Engage in proactive listening to ask better questions, build rapport and learn as much as possible from your interlocutors
• Successfully navigate conversational ambiguity and awkwardness: optimize conversation when your interlocutors withhold information, pause and/or get quiet
• Identify bias, credibility and reliability concerns with sources and the information they provide
• Parlay all of the above skills when managing others, i.e. subcontractors, who conduct inquiries or do other outreach on your behalf
• Other lessons learned and tips and tricks from the instructor’s experience in the field

Instructor Bio

Jen Hoar specializes in identifying, cultivating and interviewing smart people who know more than she does about any given topic. She currently leverages this expertise through the work of her firm, Sinclair Insight LLC, which advances clients’ strategic decision-making on topical, often sensitive, business intelligence and due diligence matters. She previously honed source development and interview skills at ABC News, National Journal and CBS News, and by working with former CIA operations officials and prosecutors, among others, in private sector investigations and intelligence firms Crumpton Group and Investigative Group International. Jen recently worked for Facebook as a founding member of an investigative team, where she worked extensively on topics related to information warfare. Based in Washington, DC, she has interviewed experts and market leaders in industries ranging from aviation to biotech to entertainment, and in countries from Nigeria to Mexico to Kuwait.

About the Author

Matt Devost

Matthew G. Devost is the CEO & Co-Founder of OODA LLC. Matt is a technologist, entrepreneur, and international security expert specializing in counterterrorism, critical infrastructure protection, intelligence, risk management and cyber-security issues. Matt co-founded the cyber security consultancy FusionX from 2010-2017. Matt was President & CEO of the Terrorism Research Center/Total Intel from 1996-2009. For a full bio, please see www.devost.net