Negotiation Concepts We Should All Know

We are all negotiators, we live in a world and country where we have to negotiate every time. Now, lets raise the bar on negotiation.

Excluding a few, particularly those who have affiliations with the streets (igboro men), too often when people think of negotiation, what comes to mind right away are some very weird and negative stereotypes such as diplomatic negotiation or hostage negotiation so they prefer to retreat and accept whatever comes because they figure they are simply not hardened enough to engage in such acts or it just doesn't match with their self-image. But that has got to change. Ignore whatever fear you have within you and go for what's best for youself.

Sure we were raised as kids to "Be nice", "Share your food", "Say thank you", "Be polite" and so on... And nothing's wrong with these ideas oo. The trouble is, alot of us tend to go spiritual with these (i mean a lot of us tend to go way beyond the objective idea of equity and carry it into a realm where it gets tied up with guilt), so that by the end of the day we are seen as nice guys and not selfish.

I don't know what goes down in the things you do, but in this thing of ours, tough bargaining earns respect. Likewise, society has brainwashed us to think that if we bargain & stand up for ourselves, we'll make enemies. Negotiating for ourselves does not reflect badly on us in the least. All it reflects is a sense of self worth, a positive approach towards life that tells people "I'm not going to sit and take what comes. No way, I'm going after what i feel i deserve."

Also keep in mind that first impressions are lasting. Once you've been tagged as a pushover(pussy), it can be difficult to shake the label off.

Final notes; when negotiating, steer clear from this four letter word fair, else it might undermine your negotiation. Of all the emotional potholes along the road of negotiation, the concept of being fair may be the deepest. Should you fall into it, it would be extremely hard to pull yourself out. Fair is a relative concept. What you think of as fair can be completely different from what the other person thinks of as fair. Don't try to be fair, go for what you believe you deserve, you have all the time in the world to be fair  from the moment you win your bargain.

Happy Sunday

#Stay_Blessed