Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

Allies serve as audiences to guarantee the application of standards that ought, in fairness, to apply. In essence, you can use the third party to bypass the person who opposes you. But be warned: this may be seen as an aggressive move by the person you are bypassing. So careful planning and diplomacy will be needed. Reserve this tactic for only the

To sum up: An ounce of well-grounded personal trust in a business partner based on demonstrated generosity is worth many pounds of contractual guarantees and surety bonds.

Boiled down to its essence, the norm of reciprocity in negotiation amounts to a simple, three-step code of conduct. First, you should always be trustworthy and reliable yourself. Second, you should be fair to those who are fair to you. Third, you should let others know about it when you think they have treated you unfairly. Unfair treatment, left u

Have the patience to listen.

Determine whether you can use your relationships to offset the dangers of unethical conduct by others involved in the transaction.

Avoid concentrating too much on your bottom line—spend extra time preparing your goals and developing high expectations.

What is your overall positioning theme?

Write down your goal and commit to it.

3. Delay. Research shows that conflicts can take much longer to resolve using e-mail than by relying on other, wider communication channels. The fix: Schedule regular calls and meetings to supplement e-mail communications.

How might it serve the other party’s interests to help you achieve your goals?