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Quick Tip of the Month
The Person Who Speaks First Loses
Eventually, every negotiation comes down
to that delicate time when serious proposals are
introduced and meaningful concessions are asked for and
offered. When this time arrives, the skillful negotiator
will know when to speak and when to be silent. The best
time to be silent is when you have made a serious offer
or asked for an important concession, and now it is the
other side’s turn to respond. This can be a socially
awkward moment, especially if your request is something
major which stretches the other party beyond their
comfort zone. Too often, as the person who makes the
request senses the tension building, he will “break the
ice” by making a clever remark or, even worse, he will
somehow qualify or soften the request to make the other
party more comfortable. DON’T DO THIS. The other side
needs to remain uncomfortable for the time being, until
they decide how to respond to your request. If you break
the ice, you will let them off the hook and end up
leaving money on the table that could have been yours if
you had just kept quiet. |
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Make Sure You Understand ALL the Issues
By
James A Baker
Chairman
Baker Communications
January 2008
The heart of any negotiation is the set of
issues that must be discussed, traded and/or
resolved in order to come to a satisfactory
agreement. Usually, these issues are initially
laid out as part of the negotiation agenda
(which can either be formally stipulated in a
meeting document or casually addressed verbally,
depending on the type of negotiation).
The important thing to remember here is that a)
the agenda itself is usually a product of a
brief negotiation, and b) the agenda is subject
to renegotiation as the process unfolds, as new
issues and ideas are put on the table during the
flow of the negotiation. Changes in structure or
strategy often lead to adding, reprioritizing or
eliminating issues as both parties search for
the best set of components to define a
satisfactory resolution.
One of the most important aspects of preparing
the agenda is to be aware of who is preparing
it. This person will structure the agenda in a
way that makes sense to them, based on the
issues that are important to them. However,
obviously, this doesn’t mean the agenda will
address everything that is important to you.
Don’t ever agree to an agenda unless there is a
place on it to address your issues, too.
Another mistake that ineffective negotiators
make is only negotiating the issues that are
important to launch the project under
discussion. It is well and good to gain as much
positive momentum during a negotiation, but this
often leads to downplaying questions that need
to be addressed should the deal later break
down. One year from now, if you should
discover that the deal negotiated has big
problems, will you have adequate remedies to
resolve the situation? During your preparation
phase, be sure and brainstorm possible sources
of breakdown and conflict that could arise down
the road, and include these issues on the agenda
to discuss now...
For the full article,
click here
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Business In The Eye Of The Storm
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The Discovery Channel's Business In The Eye Of
The Storm
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Questions or Comments? Please email
Christie Bissias or Call 713-627-7700
The articles in this newsletter may be reprinted in its
entirety if the following conditions are met:
1.) The complete tag with the author's
name and contact information is included immediately
after the article.
2.) A copy of the printed article is
mailed to the author at 10101 SW Freeway Houston, Texas
77074 within 30 days of publication.
3.) The article is presented in a
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related publication. |
©2008 Baker Communications, Inc.
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