When you are trying to agree upon a compromise with a partner, friend, spouse or co-worker, the art of negotiation is priceless! Well…when you combine it with listening, understanding, expressing and respecting, that is! It is almost impossible to have true compromise without all of these factors being present.
My question for the day – Do we always have to negotiate everything??? Why is it that one cannot just say what is wanted or needed and then it just be agreed upon? Is it because one person always feel like they have to have the last word or the upper hand…somehow be in control of every situation?
I am one of those folks who rarely dicker on prices (as the shopper) if I go to garage sales. That’s because when I have a garage sale, generally, I put the price I’d actually like for someone to pay on the price tag. Weird! (It’s that whole honesty thing that I like to hope pays off in the long run!)
Another good example of this is if you have the task of approving or editing someone’s work, whether it is graphic or written correspondence or proofing a paper, unless something is just wrong grammatically, allow the other person the freedom to design or write without red-penning it! Just because it’s not exactly how we would do it, doesn’t mean that it’s wrong…it’s just different.
Wouldn’t life just be so much easier if we could ask for something or propose something and we get a yes or no answer instead of the back and forth and back and forth sometimes associated with negotiations?
Negotiating Circle
Tip #340
One time this week…at least… If you would like something, state it honestly. If someone else asks for something, respond with a simple yes (or no). Check your motives for asking or not asking and stop yourself to ask “why” if you start feeling the urge to negotiate.
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