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5 REASONS NEGOTIATORS SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR WORDS!
Although words only form a small part of the human communication palette, they are powerful. We continue speaking, listening, and reading every day even in the visual world we live in. Here are 5 reasons why you should pay more attention to your words.
Positive Attitude: The Little Thing That Makes A Big Difference
It isn’t our position, but our disposition that makes us happy. Remember, some people freeze in the winter. Others ski. A positive attitude always creates positive results. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. - John Mason
Successful negotiation requires positive energy and the creation of an environment that encourages cooperation. The attitude with which you enter a negotiation and the energy you diffuse plays a determinant role in that negotiation’s success. Positive energy increases your level of confidence and your capacity to absorb stress, makes you more influential, and opens your mind. People will also be friendlier if you adopt a positive attitude.
A negotiator will generally make fewer mistakes when their mind is positively charged, and they feel empowered. Negativity narrows their focus and tends to aim it in the wrong direction (often at themselves)
PANDEMIC: The Rise Of The Electronic Negotiator
Smartphones and computers are technologies that have become essential and ubiquitous in nearly every area of life, including negotiation.
With Covid-19, we have become even more dependent on these devices and electronic communication.
There was a time when we had to meet in person (or pick up our phone) and then send a fax for confirmation. Then came emails filling up our inbox and further reducing face-to-face meetings. Now people increasingly use instant messages to negotiate since apps, like WhatsApp, WeChat or Line, can transfer documents. This is not only instantaneous, but also spam free - probably because getting one's email address is more difficult than a personal phone number.
Zoom, Webex Microsoft Teams and other video conference platforms have slightly counter-balanced this trend, but the reality is we have have become electronic negotiators even more.
Negotiators! Why You Should Really Keep Your Promises...
Keep your word as a negotiator, even it is expensive and inconvenient. Your word is your true worth.
We all meet overcommitters. They are nice and optimistic, convinced they can help, and then nothing happens. They want to please others, look good, or gain trust too quickly. They underestimate the cost of their promises, or they just stop making effort if they no longer benefit. Then, they claim a lack of time or an unforeseen event to justify their inaction. Some may not even bother apologizing and will become amnesic. Jean-Jacques Rousseau saw it clearly: “Those that are most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it.”
The Art of Preparation - 4 Lessons From Grant "Axe" Rawlinson, Explorer
I have always been fascinated by the capacity of explorers to prepare for what seems impossible to achieve for most humans. The objective for them is not only to break records but come back home safely. There will always be something out of their control. Yet, they endeavor to minimize risks by researching and mapping their mind through a repeated projection of images, as if they were there. Their ability to prepare should be an inspiration to all of us in the face of challenges.
