Monroe's motivated sequence
People who read a lot of news recognize that many articles follow a similar structure. Speeches also have a standard formula - Monroe's motivated sequence. So, »
Don’t take "yes" for an answer
When people say "yes," they aren't necessarily agreeing with you. Culturally, we're conditioned to be friendly and for many people saying "no" can feel uncooperative or »
Nonviolent communication
Nonviolent communication provides an approach to discuss change within oneself, between people, and within groups in personal and professional settings. The strategy is built on the »
Tell people they're right to convince them that they're wrong
No one likes being told they're wrong. So it's not surprising that when you do tell people that they're wrong, they often stop listening to what »
Controlling the options
Often the act of controlling the options that people can choose between is more powerful than making the final decision. So, instead of spending energy jockeying »
Realistic assumptions
Don't spend too much energy rationalizing your desired outcomes; they may be unrealistic. Actively challenge yourself to reexamine your assumptions as you're presented with new information »
Contingency contracts
When you have different assumptions about the future, it's hard to agree on valuations. If a football team disagrees with a player about how much he's »
Walking away from a negotiation
Most of negotiations in my class have resulted in an agreement. But, when executive education students do the same exercises, few of them make deals. My »
Where's the best place to fall in the ZOPA?
For the uninitiated, ZOPA stands for zone of possible agreement. In a negotiation, this is the range of outcomes that the parties should be willing to »
Negotiating is about relationships
The best negotiators can find creative win-win situations. They're able to figure out what winning means to their counter-parties and are straight forward about what they're »