Perceptions of Dominance in Negotiation

A new study concludes that when in a situation—such as a business negotiation— where they might want to be perceived as dominant, people were inclined to select products (like watches) with a wider product design. The study was led by University of Kansas Business professor Ahreum Maeng.

Good Negotiation Techniques from William Ury

Good Negotiation Techniques from William Ury

Free Negotiation Reports from Harvard's Program on Negotiation (PON)

Download them from Harvard's Program on Negotiation

Deceptive Negotiation Tactics

From the Harvard Program on Negotiation Blog and Professor G. Richard Shell:

1. Lies about bottom lines and alternatives.

2. “Too good to be true” offers.

3. Escalation of commitment.

4. Lack of reciprocity.

5. Last-minute nibbling.

Negotiation by Consumers: Haggling for a Better Price

Techniques from the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation

Good Tips for Negotiators, Especially Lawyers

When leading negotiation scholars are concise, they come up with nuggets of wisdom.  These are in the form of recipes for cooking up a deal and I particularly like:

“Having those who matter present”. Sanda Kaufman

 

“Knowledge of your counterpart, available remedies, relevant law and facts”. Nancy Welsh

“the heat is ultimately helpful, and you’re not the only one feeling it.” Noam Ebner 

“Add knowledge in increments (from listening to your counterparty and also doing

your own background research) till the remaining ignorance tastes acceptable.
Add in a small amount of doubt with each new proposal by the other party;
balance it with 1 part research and 1 part creative counter-offer.” Chris Honeyman

and Roy Lewicki’s entire entry:

· Figure out what you want
· Understand what would and could not be a mutually acceptable agreement
· Get to know and understand the other party
· Frame an opening statement
· Ask the other to reciprocate and listen to them carefully
· Ask each other lots of questions to assure understanding
· Work toward a common understanding
· Treat the other with respect and dignity

 

 

 

Advice for Women Negotiating for Higher Pay

Today's New York Times has an article entitled, "Moving Past Gender Barriers to Negotiate a Raise".   

A few nuggets of interest to negotiators:

"Women tend to negotiate less for themselves than men, when there aren’t clear standards on what they should be asking for, studies found. In fact, women worked longer and made fewer errors but paid themselves less than men did for similar tasks, according to another study. But that effect went away when women were given data on what others paid themselves."

"When negotiating for higher pay, research has found that it is not enough for women to act in a way that conforms to stereotypes. Acting feminine enough — that is, showing they care about maintaining good relationships as well as the communal good over themselves, for instance — helps women in the likability department. And that’s important.  But that doesn’t necessarily make the person in the position of power any more likely to grant a woman’s request. Women also need to legitimize their requests, or find ways to make them seem more appropriate"

Negotiating With Someone Who Says "No" to Your Proposal

William Ury's well-respected book, Getting Past No receives a nice summary and application from Alex Craigie (At Counsel Table) here. 

  When negotiating with difficult people:
1. Put your emotions aside,
2. Listen to your counterpart's position well enough to state it back to your counterpart,
3. Reframe the dispute by recasting what your counterpart says in a form that directs attention back to the problem of satisfying both sides’ interests,
4. Make it easy for your counterpart to say yes if you can persuade your counterpart–overtly or covertly–that your proposal or goal is actually your counterpart's idea,
5. Make it hard for your counterpart to say now by showing your counterpart the alternative is if an agreement is not reached. As Alex Craigie says: "Here are three reality-testing questions Ury likes:

1. “What do you think will happen if we don’t agree?”
2. “What do you think I will do?”
3. “What will you do?”

Ury acknowledges that this won’t always work.  He reminds us of one of the most important concepts from Getting To Yes, formulating your own Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). Before you resort to actually implementing your BATNA, Ury suggests “you should let your opponent know what you intend to do. You want to give him a chance to reconsider his refusal to negotiate.” (Id. at 117.)"

22 Tips to Improve Your Negotiation Skills

22 good negotiating tips from Karrass.  Among them:

"If you get people angry, they will get even by rejecting your message, even when it is good for them." and "The Chinese say, 'Time brings things in slow degrees.'  The skilled persuader starts early and lets acceptance time, repetition, and logic do the job by slow degrees."  Fits right in with yesterday's post on patience as a virtue in negotiation.