Adapted from “Wise Negotiators Know When to Say ‘I’m Sorry’” by Maurice E. Schweitzer, Associate Professor, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

In negotiation, it’s unavoidable: sooner or later, you’ll do or say something that offends or hurts your counterpart. Whether or not the harm you cause is intentional, you’ll need to rebuild trust and cooperation to repair the … read more »

Reciprocation tactics are tried and true. Politicians “logroll” votes on pet projects, companies offer free product samples to consumers, and charitable organizations include small gifts when soliciting donations. According to the norm of reciprocity, if you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice in return, and vice versa.

In the realm of negotiation, you can gain many benefits from including reciprocation strategies … read more »

Imagine you’re celebrating a special occasion with friends at an upscale restaurant. Soon after you take your seats, the wine director introduces himself and hands you a list of high-end bottles of wine. You notice that the prices—all in the $200–$600 range—have been slashed through with a red pen.

“The prices of the wines on our reserve list are negotiable tonight,” … read more »

Under certain conditions, women may work harder than men when negotiating on behalf of others, suggests a study by Harvard professors Hannah Riley Bowles and Kathleen McGinn, and Carnegie Mellon University professor Linda Babcock. In their experiment, female executives performed better than male executives when bargaining for the compensation of someone they had mentored. By contrast, women and men achieved … read more »