Stitt Feld Handy Group: Negotiation Tip of the Month
Negotiation Tip of the Month
March 2008
“Why” is the most important question in a negotiation. It gets us information about other peoples’ interests, wants and needs. The more information we have, the more likely we’ll be able to find a solution that works for us and for the other side. It’s hard to ask too many questions; we often ask too few. We are sometimes so focused on getting our point across that we don’t take the time to learn the information that we need to know in order to reach an agreement. We make wrong assumptions and get bogged down in time-wasting and unnecessary debates. Remember that we have two ears and one mouth and should use them in proportion!
“Why” is the most important question in a negotiation. It gets us information about other peoples’ interests, wants and needs. The more information we have, the more likely we’ll be able to find a solution that works for us and for the other side. It’s hard to ask too many questions; we often ask too few. We are sometimes so focused on getting our point across that we don’t take the time to learn the information that we need to know in order to reach an agreement. We make wrong assumptions and get bogged down in time-wasting and unnecessary debates. Remember that we have two ears and one mouth and should use them in proportion!