Tag: lying

  • Five non-deceptive reasons that negotiators don’t tell the full truth

    One of the biggest challenges any negotiator faces is getting the full truth from their counterpart—in particular, learning the real interests lurking behind their positions. Why’s my coworker really pushing that proposal? Why’s the homeowner really delaying that inspection? Facing a less-than-fully forthcoming counterpart, most of us draw a simple conclusion: They must be concealing…

  • Seven surprising reasons why negotiators lie

    The students in my negotiation classes are very rarely surprised to learn that negotiators sometimes lie. Deception, they assume, is central to negotiation. “And why do negotiators lie?” I probe—a question that usually elicits eye-rolls and answers related to one of two obvious motives: greed (e.g., “to get a better deal”) or fear (e.g., “to…