All posts with the ‘ communication ’ Tag

Recently, I wrote about the importance of choosing the right counterpart when negotiating.   To get a good idea of who you should negotiate with, you need to first understand what your natural tendencies are when confronted with conflict.

Thankfully, everyone responds differently in conflict.  I say  “thankfully” because if we all reacted the same way, solving problems would be much, much harder.  As with most … Read More

I want you to think of the most annoying person you’ve ever had to negotiate with.

Now think of the absolute best person you’ve ever negotiated with; your favorite negotiating partner.

Why were you negotiating with them?

No, not what were you negotiating about.  Why were you negotiating with that particular person?

You’re not alone if your answer is, “Because that’s who I was told … Read More

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard recently (a while ago) started a (somewhat) daily blog.  It’s mostly edited versions of longer articles written by the professors that teach PON classes.  The posts have enough to spark your thinking and get yourself chewing on how you’d tackle that particular issue.

Professor Subramanian is one of my favorites.  He taught a good portion of the classes … Read More

Way back when we started hanging out, I talked a wee bit about the concept of “anchoring.”

Anchoring is what happens when one party in a negotiation names a price, a due date or a list of deliverables.  That number is the number all other suggestions, negotiations, conversation and demands will be measured against.

Once an anchor has dropped it is very hard to move, … Read More

I gotta say that one more time: You. Are. Hot.

Like “Joan Jett” hot.

Why?

Because you’ve made it this far along in our exciting journey of figuring out how, why and when to share information during a negotiation.

To summarize:  if you want the information you share to help you, you need to know who you’re negotiating with and what kind … Read More

Have you ever wrapped up a big conversation, gotten up to clear your head, and realized you forgot to discuss one of the most important things you wanted to talk about?

Have you ever said something stupid during a stressful interaction that you wish you could take back later?

How about regretting that you agreed to a particular term in a negotiation and your only … Read More

If you’ve been reading for a while you know that I’m sort of obsessed with you getting, using and sharing information when you negotiate.

Interest based negotiation is only effective when you know what one another’s true interests in the deal are.  You can only know what those interests are if you have information.

So how do we get more information?  By asking questions.… Read More

Criticism.

It’s just plain no fun when someone tells you they think you did a crappy job on something.

Criticism that isn’t invited or sought out can feel invasive and undeserved, or like someone just discovered your dirty secret.  It can leave you feeling off kilter and exposed.

And while criticism can be helpful and give you a perspective on something that turns out to … Read More