Negotiation Tips

Harvard Business School professors Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman wrote one of my favorite negotiation books:  Negotiation Genius.  There are many powerful negotiation strategies in this book.  They also point out seven common mistakes that negotiators make: “1. You made the first offer when you were not in a strong position to do so. 2.   […]

It’s about them. I imagine this is very hard to hear. One of the best, if not the best, negotiation tip I can recommend is to forget about you (and your client) for a moment.  It’s not about you.  It’s about them:  the other party, your opponent, your negotiation adversary, your nemesis; however you want to […]

As part of your mediation preparation, consider being, and staying, positive. If you choose to stay positive, not only will your own mood be improved, you will have a better chance of settling your case.  Studies show that students who watch comedies prior to negotiations had better outcomes than those who did not. In the […]

Here’s a proven negotiation tip that most people don’t think of, or at least don’t think of first.  I think it’s not used more frequently because it’s a little counter-intuitive. When we get stuck in conflict, whether in civil litigation mediation or divorce mediation or conflicts in the workplace, we tend to let the conflict make […]

Lawyers, in particular, are really, really good at spotting issues, marshaling facts and constructing arguments.  But, asking good questions to resolve a dispute?  Not so much. Wharton School negotiation professor and author of Getting More, Stuart Diamond, notes, “[T]he single biggest cause of communication failure is misperception.  Further, he says: “Often the things you hold […]

In a litigated case, there are at least four points of view about settlement: the points of view of the plaintiff, the plaintiff’s lawyer, the defendant and the defendant’s lawyer. Add in claims representatives, boards of directors and additional parties and negotiations become more complex as more points of view are added to the mix. […]