Recently I spent some time with my friends and their toddler, Sam. Sam told his mom he wanted to do a somersault. His mom said he could do just one. “One somersault, Sam. How many somersaults are you allowed to do?” He grinned mischievously and said “Two somersaults!” She repeated, “One somersault.” “OK,” he said, and went for it. As soon as he was upright, he shouted, “Again!” My friend asked Sam, “Do you remember what mommy said?” and eventually he conceded. Luckily, we managed to distract him with a toy before chaos took over.
Turns out, my friend used some pretty smart negotiating moves with her toddler. When you’re faced with a counterpart who doesn’t want to play fair once you’ve closed the deal, take some inspiration from the playground and use these three moves to reinforce your position, reports Forbes.
Start out on the same page
When you negotiate with someone, there are actually two conversations going on : the one revolving around the terms of the deal, and another one that gender and negotiation expert Deborah Kolb calls the “shadow negotiation” — the unspoken conversation about how the negotiation will unfold. If you’re negotiating with someone who has more power than you (your boss, say) you might not think you’ll be able to influence this. If your boss typically makes decisions unilaterally, try engaging him in a casual conversation about the topic at hand where you can mention your concerns or priorities. If it’s not a formal meeting with an agenda, he might be more receptive, or at least less reactive, than when he’s in a room full of people.
Then, follow up using a “nudge” from behavioral science. Be proactive by sending him an email recapping your conversation and asking for his confirmation. If you can copy another person relevant to the conversation, so much the better. When people make voluntary public commitments, they are more likely to follow through with them. “Public” in this case is copying a third person on the email so that the conversation goes beyond just the two of you. Repeat as needed
Assert yourself if the other party isn’t playing by the rules you’ve all agreed to. “John, last week we both agreed that I would be leading the project.” Restating your view is a conflict management technique recommended by office politics expert Kathleen Kelley Reardon. Calling out what’s going on by naming the issue is one of the negotiation “turns,” or strategies to get the discussion back on track, that Kolb writes about in her book, Everyday Negotiation: Navigating The Hidden Agendas In Bargaining.
