All posts with the ‘ communication ’ Tag

After spending a couple hours diligently planning for a negotiation, writing out your interests, and figuring out different back up plans, do you nevertheless end up in the middle of a negotiation that feels like two dogs fighting over a bone?  All those good intentions of focusing on interests are thrown out the window because, dammit, the other person is being an asshat about the … Read More

Negotiating is something you can do.  No matter how intimidating you might find it or inexperienced you may feel, you can be a negotiation rock star.

Part two of the rock star “How To” guide starts after the jump.  If you’re just joining us, catch up by reading part one first.… Read More

Negotiation isn’t magical or special or overly difficult.

Negotiation is just two people talking about how they can solve a shared problem.

How you talk about that problem, how you use information, and how you approach the other person makes the difference between a good negotiation and a difficult one.

Here’s how to make your negotiations not just good, but rock star good.… Read More

There is a nice piece about confidence from Daniel Kahneman in last week’s New York Times Magazine.  It’s definitely worth a read before you head into your next negotiation.  Especially if you happen to think you’re 100% right and they’re 100% wrong.… Read More

Disagreements suck.

It is never fun to be at odds with someone, especially if that someone is a person you’re working with or who is in charge of paying you money.

But disagreements happen.  They are a part of life and they are definitely a part of work.  Instead of hoping really, really hard that the impossible occurs and the remainder of your days are … Read More

Jack has been freelancing for six months.  He’s done his fair share of work on spec and picked up jobs that friends and acquaintances didn’t want.  He’s had some good experiences and some that made him long for the days he worked at Borders endlessly stocking Twilight novels.

Last week Jack got an email from an educational book publisher asking if he’d be interested in … Read More

Sometimes you don’t want to understand why things happen or how you can become a better person through active listening.  Sometimes you just want someone to help you figure out how to fix a problem.

I can do that.… Read More

Regardless of where you come down on this whole debt ceiling business, if you want to hone your negotiation skills, it is the thing to pay attention to.  Because watching people screw things up beyond all recognition is a fantastic way of learning.

Here are the major lessons I hope you take away from this debacle.… Read More