Category: Negotiations

  • Making negotiations fun: Five lessons from the outliers who actually like them

    Ask a person their favorite activities, and they’re not likely to say “negotiation.” Most of us dislike negotiation, and some utterly despise it. But does it really have to be that way? Isn’t it at least conceivable to enjoy negotiation? In my role as negotiation professor, I’ve had the pleasure of observing at least a…

  • Can we all merge later?

    If you’re traumatized by traffic, the following claim may strike you as controversial if not downright sacrilegious. So let me apologize in advance for any offense. But then let me direct you to the common situation in which one of two lanes on your side of the roadway ends, necessitating a merge into the other.…

  • The five real meanings of “I can’t do that”

    It’s your negotiation counterpart’s favorite phrase: “I can’t do that.” And it’s a discouraging phrase that most of us take at face-value, deeming our dreams as good as dashed. And sometimes we should, as it signifies the actual impossibility of our request. But many times, we shouldn’t. Because, many times, it means something subtly but…