The Consultant Who Heard the Unspoken
---
The Status Quo: The Master of the Deal
Lena Voss had a reputation for closing deals that others called impossible. Her clients—tech founders, private equity firms, even government agencies—trusted her to navigate the most complex negotiations with a calm precision. She didn’t just win; she made the other side want to agree.
Her secret? Preparation. Before every call, she mapped out the conversation like a general planning a battle. She knew the other party’s pain points, their leverage, their tells. She had read their emails, analyzed their past deals, even studied their body language in old recordings. But today, something was different.
---
The Incident: The Smiling Viper
The call was with Daniel Carter, CEO of a biotech startup looking for a $50 million Series B. On paper, it was straightforward: Lena’s firm had the capital, the startup had the tech. But from the first “hello,” Daniel’s tone was… off.
“Lena, so great to finally connect,” he said, his voice smooth, almost too warm. “I’ve heard so much about you. Your reputation precedes you.”
She smiled, though the compliment felt like a probe. “Lena, you’re being paranoid,” she told herself. This is just another deal.
But then the questions started.
“You know, I was just talking to the team at Vanguard Capital,” Daniel said, leaning back in his chair—visible on her screen—like a man who already knew the answer. “They mentioned they were very interested in our valuation. Almost like they thought we were undervalued.”
Lena’s fingers tightened around her mouse. Vanguard hadn’t reached out to her. She would have known.
“That’s interesting,” she said carefully. “When did this come up?”
Daniel waved a hand. “Oh, just last week. But you know how these things go—timing is everything. I’m sure you understand.”
She did. And she didn’t like where this was going.
---
The Struggle: The Ground Shifting Beneath Her
The call deteriorated from there.
Daniel “misremembered” key details from their previous emails—dates, numbers, even her own statements. “Didn’t you say in your last note that you were comfortable with a 20% equity stake?” he asked, tilting his head. “I could’ve sworn that’s what you wrote.”
Lena’s stomach twisted. She hadn’t. She pulled up the email chain, scanning for the line. Nothing. But Daniel’s confidence was unshakable.
“Maybe I misread,” she said, though she knew she hadn’t. “Let me double-check.”
“No, no, don’t worry about it,” he said, chuckling. “These things happen. It’s easy to get mixed up, right?”
She wasn’t mixed up. She was being gaslit.
And the worst part? She was starting to doubt herself.
---
The Guide: The Whisper in Her Ear
Lena had used conversation intelligence tools before—Otter.ai for transcripts, Fireflies for post-call notes. But today, for the first time, she had PAVIS running in the background, its real-time AI analyzing every word, every pause, every shift in tone.
She had almost forgotten it was there.
Until it spoke.
A notification flashed on her second screen:
🚨 SHIELD ENGINE ALERT: POTENTIAL GASLIGHTING DETECTED
Subject: Daniel Carter
Tactic: Source Confusion (Claiming you agreed to terms you did not)
Confidence: 92%
Lena’s breath caught. She minimized the alert, but another popped up:
🔍 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE INSIGHT
Daniel Carter’s voice: 78% confidence, 12% skepticism (feigned), 10% amusement (hidden)
Your voice: 45% certainty (dropping), 30% confusion, 25% frustration
She glanced at the call timer. 7 minutes in. She was losing ground.
Then, the Edge Engine chimed in:
💡 EDGE ENGINE SUGGESTION: CHALLENGE THE TIMELINE
Proposed question: “Daniel, you mentioned Vanguard reached out last week. Could you share the exact date? I’d love to align our timelines.”
Why? Creates accountability. Gaslighters avoid specifics.
Lena exhaled. She had a play.
---
The Transformation: Seeing the Puppeteer’s Strings
She leaned forward, her voice steady.
“Daniel, I appreciate the update on Vanguard. To make sure we’re aligned, could you share the exact date they reached out? I’d hate for there to be any miscommunication on our end.”
A pause. Daniel’s smile faltered for half a second.
“Oh, you know how these things are,” he said, waving a hand. “It was recent. Maybe Tuesday?”
🚨 SHIELD ENGINE UPDATE: CONTRADICTION DETECTED
Previous claim: “Last week” (7 days ago)
New claim: “Tuesday” (2 days ago)
Likelihood of deception: 89%
Lena’s pulse quickened. She was onto something.
“Tuesday,” she repeated, nodding. “Got it. And just to confirm—when they mentioned the valuation, did they give a specific number? I’d love to benchmark against our own model.”
Daniel’s fingers drummed on his desk. “You know, Lena, I don’t want to get into the weeds here. The point is, we have options. And I’d hate for us to lose this deal over semantics.”
💡 EDGE ENGINE SUGGESTION: REFRAME THE POWER DYNAMIC
Proposed response: “Daniel, I respect that you have options. But semantics are what close deals—or break them. Let’s get this right.”
Why? Shifts focus from his manipulation to the *process*.
She used it.
Daniel’s facade cracked. His voice lost its warmth. “Look, Lena, if you’re not comfortable with the terms, maybe we should table this.”
🔍 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE INSIGHT
Daniel Carter’s voice: 60% frustration, 20% defensiveness, 20% urgency
Your voice: 85% confidence, 15% controlled assertiveness
For the first time, she was in control.
---
The Resolution: The Truth in the Silence
What followed wasn’t just a negotiation—it was a dissection.
With PAVIS feeding her real-time insights, Lena exposed every inconsistency. The “misremembered” emails? She pulled up the actual text. The Vanguard “interest”? A bluff. The valuation demands? Inflated by 30%.
By the end of the call, Daniel wasn’t just backing down—he was apologizing.
“Lena, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” he said, his voice stripped of its earlier charm. “Let’s start over.”
She smiled. “I’d like that. But this time, let’s keep it fact-based.”
As she ended the call, PAVIS flashed one last message:
🎯 GOAL ACHIEVED: NEGOTIATION LEVERAGE RESTORED
Outcome: Subject conceded on 2/3 demands. Confidence in your position: 98%
Lena leaned back in her chair, exhilarating. She had just won a battle she hadn’t even known she was fighting—in real time.
---
The Aftermath: The New Rule of Engagement
That night, Lena pulled up PAVIS’s post-call summary. It wasn’t just a transcript. It was a map of the psychological battlefield:
She thought of all the deals she’d lost—not to better offers, but to manipulation. To people who knew how to make her doubt herself.
Never again.
The next morning, she sent an internal memo to her team:
“From now on, PAVIS is mandatory for high-stakes calls. We’re not just negotiating deals. We’re defending our sanity.”
And for the first time, she wasn’t just a consultant.
She was a shield.
---
Learn more about how real-time conversation intelligence can protect you from manipulation: