Negotiation is about creating that extra bit of space.

You probably know the example of someone who is unfamiliar to you and who is getting too close. There seems to be a private zone that surrounds us. we feel uncomfortable if people get near us. We all need our (private) space.

And negotiating is about enlarging that space. This could mean, time for example: You are asked to finish an activity; a deadline for a news story by six o'clock. You ask to finish it at eight. Giving very good reasons, negotiating well and you come to agree to hand over the article at seven. You can still finish it at six but you win some time to check it before submitting.

If you plan a project and you have asked the individual planning of all team members. You have added all up. Agreed to the critical path, etc. You end up with a planning of a certain amount of money and days of work. All's set. The only thing you need to do is to communicate to the sponsor and negotiate the plan for agreement. Before you do so, you add another fifteen percent to the plan, knowing that the acceptance will always be somewhere in between.

And the

n your are in the middle of a negotiation for that house. There is already a first bid and the counter-bid. You're next. The negotiation step you have to make consist of two kind of spaces; the time before you repeat a next bid and the height of the next bid.

The risk is in the fact that you have created too much space. In that case you do not have to worry that people get too close anymore; They have already abandoned you...That is too bad if you really wanted that house. Space has its limits...

© 2006 Hans Bool

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