Originally published on danstern.co
It’s fascinating how often you have to negotiate in life. From big things like salary or business deals, to smaller day to day tasks like who’s going to do the dishes, I realized that you can’t EVER avoid a negotiation. If you’re doing something every single day, might as well try to get good at it, right?
I recently read “Never Split the Difference” by expert FBI negotiator Chris Voss to learn specific methods when preparing for and in the midst of any negotiation. The gaborito (Portuguese for “answer key”, also used as “bottom line”) is that the people who negotiate for a living rely on fundamental research from psychology to operate effectively in their jobs.
Tying together specific methods Voss laid out in his book with findings from said psychology research, below are some useful techniques, and WHY they work, that anyone can use during any negotiation.
Key things before we address strategies
First, what is a negotiation?
I’m defining a negotiation as a situation where you and another party need to get something done, but the terms of that “something” have not been defined. That’s where the negotiation comes in.
