Improve Your Negotiations With The 5 Golden Rules.   LEARN THEM

Taking a Long-Term View

NBC Universal, the owner of the television show, House, recently reached a deal with the show’s broadcaster, Fox, for an eighth season. At first glance, NBC Universal would appear to have strong leverage in this type of deal because it can always choose to broadcast...

The Context Manipulator

Have you ever been in a negotiation where your counterpart manipulated the time, location or setting of the negotiation to attempt to make you feel less powerful? What should you do, for example, if your counterpart makes you wait for an hour after the scheduled...

Five Tips for Negotiating the Agenda

Here are five psychological tendencies to keep in mind when tactically developing and/or negotiating an agenda (what issues to address and in what order): 1.  Listeners remember the beginning and end of a presentation more than the middle. 2.  Repetition of a message...

NFL Parties Appear to be Problem-Solving

In a recent CBSSports.com article, Mike Freeman reported the meetings between NFL owners and players have changed to a polite environment where “jokes are exchanged… Handshakes are commonplace. So are smiles and chit chat;” much different from the previous...

Overcoming Negotiation Anxiety

A study by Wharton professors Alison Wood Brooks and Maurice Schweitzer found anxious negotiators made initial offers that were 7.5% lower on average than those from non-anxious participants.  From this, the authors conclude negotiators might be able to improve their...

Research Your Counterpart’s Past Tactics

Walgreens had been negotiating a new prescription pricing deal with Express Scripts, Inc. but recently announced the negotiation had failed and it would be ending its relationship with Express Scripts at year end.  Interestingly, Walgreens participated in a similar...

Offer-Concession Language Tips

The language you use in making your offers and concessions and the signal it sends can have a strong impact on whether your offers or concessions will be accepted.  Here are some general tips: Be specific and detailed Explain your rationale and tie your offer to...

Implementing Negotiation Best Practices

As a manager, how can you get your front-line negotiators to change their behavior from instinctive to strategic based on the experts’ proven negotiation research? Here are a couple of tips: 1. Take baby steps. Don’t ask your negotiators to do everything the research...

Effective Listening Techniques

Here are some effective listening techniques suggested by Professor Ralph Cagle at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School: 1.  Want to listen 2.  Stop talking 3.  Don’t interrupt 4.  Pay attention 5.  Eliminate distractions 6.  Encourage your counterpart to...