What’s the biggest misconception people have about negotiations?
Margaret Neale: “That negotiation’s a fight. Most folks walk into a negotiation expecting a battle. They get all armored up, they get all anxious, and when they expect a fight, they get a fight. The reality is that negotiation is a dyadic interdependent decision. No one can force anybody to say yes. I’ve got to agree to what you offer and you’ve got to agree to what I offer. This is almost an ironic statement, but I don’t negotiate anymore. I problem-solve. And that, I think, turns out to be a lot better.”
Is it better to make the first offer in a negotiation?
“It does not matter if I’m talking to a group of CEOs or if I’m talking to undergraduates; about 80% of folks say the comparative advantage lies with those who receive the first offer,” Neale says. Yet she and her colleagues say the answer to this common question is not so clear cut.
Ultimately, the decision to make the first move depends on context. “You want to make an informed decision on which tools from your negotiation toolbox you’re going to use,” Halevy says. “If you decide that anchoring is going to be one of these tools, then you could go first and make the first offer. However, if you think that active listening is going to be an important tool in a given negotiation, maybe going in with a listening learning mindset would be more impactful.”
What is something more people should negotiate for?
Jon Atwell: “A lot of people don’t negotiate their salaries and benefits enough for their first or second jobs. Coming out of school, you feel excited about your first job, your expenses are low, so you don’t have much of an imperative to negotiate hard. But through the miracle of compounding interest or compounding rates, small differences in the beginning can really add up. I also think that the confidence and assertiveness that you should bring to a negotiation signal good things about your ambition and commitment to a job.”
By Dave Gilson / Stanford Business Review
