“To make better decisions know the process of better decision making.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (click to Tweet)
“Make Better Decisions – How To
Increase Negotiation Opportunities”
People don’t realize they’re always negotiating.
Every day of your life, you make decisions. And how you make decisions determines the quality of life you live and the opportunities that come from them. But there are times when you need to make better decisions, such as during negotiations, to have opportunities reveal themselves. Thus, even when you are engaged in talks with friends, loved ones, or work associates, you need to make better decisions to increase negotiation opportunities. And here is how to make better decisions by using different techniques and strategies.
Decision Making Illusions
1. The person with authority makes the decision.
In reality, when it comes to making decisions, the authority figure may make the final decision. But that person may also take into consideration the views and opinions of others. Thus, even during negotiations, the way your opposite acts may derive from input he received from others.
2. Decisions are made in one central location.
The reality of how a person makes decisions occurs in different phases of the process. Those phases may consist of input from many sources. Thus, the opposing negotiator may have received information about the strategies he will implement from others, along with his prior negotiation experiences. Therefore, it behooves you to understand the variables that have shaped his decision-making paradigm.
3. A high degree of intellect goes into the decision.
As stated earlier, a decision can have the makeup of people from all walks of life, depending on its severity. Accordingly, when assessing the best decision for your purposes, you may consider seeking input from those with and without insight about the subject matter at hand. That is especially true for more complex situations.
4. Authority figures analyze. Then, they make decisions.
There are times, during a negotiation, when a problem is solved before either negotiator reveals it as such. Thus, to make better decisions, during the planning stage of the talks, ferret out potential problems. And be prepared to solve them during the negotiation once you sense their existence.
5. A person decides, and then they act.
In reality, your counterpart may decide to proceed upon a particular path and implement the actions needed to complete the process in small increments. Per a decision that you have opted to implement, understand where that decision is taking you. And be aware of the impact it will have on the negotiation. And be mindful that as you implement in increments, you can detour at the slightest sign of a hindrance.
Understanding Decision Making
Realize that people make decisions based on different factors, such as social, political, and the state of their emotions. And those factors become the governing sources of their motivation. Thus the way a person engages in her negotiation decision-making today may shift tomorrow due to altering circumstances and factors. During negotiations, that is a vital aspect to keep in mind.
At first glimpse, altering circumstances may appear daunting when considering how you will make decisions during your negotiation if the target’s input is constantly shifting. But most people blame bad decision-making on external forces, things they could not control. And they take inward credit for good decisions – when the outcome of a decision leads to some form of betterment. Psychologists term the difference in this perspective phenomenon as fundamental attribution error – nothing is wrong with my decision-making capabilities, but that of others is flawed. And that perspective creates a bias in the way people view the outcome of a decision.
How To Make Better Decisions
During a negotiation, you can position offers and counteroffers based on your assessment of the outcome you will derive from them. With that insight, you can begin to shape someone’s perspective based on the scenario you are in and the results you seek during negotiations. Aligned with that, in a negotiation, you must consider the role you will portray. Because how you are perceived will be part of the calculus that makes up your counterpart’s retorts.
Role Play
In every negotiation, one’s persona plays a role. Thus, in some situations, it may be beneficial to cast a dour demeanor. At other times, an upbeat appearance may be appropriate. Accordingly, one must always be mindful of the character one is projecting. That is because the receiver of your display will base his decisions on its perception.
Evolving Decisions
It will be advantageous to introduce an offer in some situations and allow time for the other negotiator to become comfortable with the possibility of embracing it. In such cases, you can add value to the offer to quicken its embrace. Doing that, and having the value-add perceived as such, will make the acceptance of the offer more appealing.
Biases And Intuition
To make better decisions, you must be aware of your biases and intuition. Your biases may range from those you possess about the person you are negotiating, whom he represents, or what occurred in your prior negotiations. And that could affect your intuition, which may lead you to make decisions to spite your opponent. The point is, be aware of the mindset you possess when making decisions and the source from which they stem.
Reflection
Mistakes, indeed, make us who we are. But once you can make better decisions, the mistakes you make will become fewer. Be it in a negotiation or other parts of your life, that, in turn, will increase your opportunities.
Yes, the shine may come off the apple due to a bad decision. But when your negotiation is about to derail, by making better decisions, you will not only bounce back – you will bounce forward. And everything will be right with the world.
Remember, you’re always negotiating!
Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://c-suitenetwork.com/radio/shows/greg-williams-the-master-negotiator-and-body-language-expert-podcast/
After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com
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