“When negotiating with some people, their demeanor and habits will be cause for caution.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert
… and another shoe falls.
In the continuing negotiation saga between President Trump and former FBI Director Comey, the situation is fraught with potential danger for the president. As such, the president should be more cautious about his actions.
The following are insights from which you can become a better negotiator.
Be careful when bluffing in a negotiation. When President Trump stated that “Comey better think about whether there are tapes of the meeting they had”, the president set himself up. Some say the president was attempting to invoke a veiled threat. It appears that he did not consider the background of Comey and how he might react or have already reacted when the president made that pronouncement.
Always consider the background of the person with whom you’re negotiating and how they might react to stimuli. When positioning your offers in a negotiation, consider the tactics you employ to move the other negotiator in a particular direction. When it comes to bluffing, if your bluff is called, be prepared to enact on it. If you back down, future attempts at bluffing will possess less impact than what otherwise might have been the case.
Be mindful of inferences. The way someone may interpret an action and/or how such might shape their perspective is cast in the inferences they draw from situations. In the case of Putin stating that he can ‘provide transcripts’ to prove President Trump did not pass Russia secrets when meeting with the Russians in the Oval office, giving the dustup and perception by some of possible collusion, if Putin was really trying to help, he’d not make such an offer. It’s akin to, with friends like that who needs enemies.
Always be alert to how your actions might be interpreted. Since you’re always negotiating, consider how you’ll be positioned tomorrow as the result of how your actions are perceived today.
Be mindful of your power. When negotiating, you must always keep in mind that the perception of power is fluid. Thus, it alters to whom it favors with the shifting of time. In the case of the president, if he did request that Comey ‘lay off’ the Russian investigation, he did so assuming he had perceived power, and that Comey would acquiesce to that power.
In a negotiation, you have to know how the degree of power you possess is being perceived. I stated you should be aware of it in degrees because the more precise you are about that perception, the greater you’ll be in determining how much power to apply to/in a negotiation situation.
Always remember, where you sit is where you stand when it comes to the positions you adopt and how you project yourself during a negotiation. As such, be very cognizant of your actions and how they shape the flow of the negotiation. Attempt to be insightful without being inciting. By raising your sense of awareness per the actions you engage in, you’ll be in greater control of the negotiation. For you, that will lead to more winning negotiation outcomes … and everything will be right with the world.
What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com
Remember, you’re always negotiating!