• Should you Make the First Offer? According to conventional wisdom, no. But new research on the anchoring effect suggests that the best strategy is often to speak up first
• When a Contract Isn’t Enough: How to be Sure Your Agent Gets You the Best Deal. Negotiation is often handled by an agent. Here’s some advice on managing this potentially double-edged relationship
• The High Cost of Close Focus: Focus is good, right? Not always. Too intense a focus can make you miss cues and overlook opportunities in a negotiation
• The Payoff of Trust: Worrying about trust betrayal is natural, but it can hold you back as a negotiator. For maximum effectiveness at the bargaining table, learn to deal rationally with the risk of betrayal
• Research Summaries: Brokered Ultimatums and Procedural Justice. Mediation in Transactional Negotiation

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• The High Cost of Low Trust: Counteracting misperception and mistrust at the beginning of a negotiation can help negotiators avoid vicious cycles and sustain virtuous ones
• Mapping Backward: Negotiating in the Right Sequence: In a complex negotiation, it’s important to have a framework for understanding how and when to talk to each partner
• Divided You’ll Fall: Managing Conflict within the Ranks. Flatter, Matrixed organizations require an integrated approach to managing conflict
• How to Break a Stalemate: Any negotiation can stall. Here are some ways to get it going again
• Research Summaries: So, You Don’t Want the Other Side to Lie; The Empathy Gap

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• Turn Disputes into Deals: By working closely – and early on – with your lawyer on effective problem solving, you can control legal costs and encourage better outcomes
• Negotiating for the Victims of Nazi Germany: Stuart Eizenstat discusses the strategies he used in complex negotiations with multiple parties – strategies that managers can use to resolve even the most contentious disputes
• Smart Alternatives to Lying in Negotiation: Lying is unethical and may be illegal. What’s more, it’s often poor strategy. There are better ways to get what you want
• What’s Really Relevant? The Role of Vivid Data in Negotiation: All that glitters in not gold – as too many negotiators learn too late. Here’s how to avoid falling prey to the vividness bias
• Research Summaries: Go Outside the Box, but Think Inside It, Too; Strategies for Overcoming Email’s Weaknesses

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• The Winner’s Curse: Ever win something you wanted, then realize too late you got a raw deal? Here’s how to recognize when backing away is your best bet in a negotiation
• Building Relationships and the Bottom Line: The Circle of Value Approach to Negotiation: Forget haggling and intimidation. A successful negotiation can strengthen relationships and create value for both sides
• Turn Chaos to Your Advantage: Uncertainty is a given in a negotiation. Negotiators who ignore this fact and follow rigid strategies blind themselves to unexpected perils – and miss potential opportunities
• First Empathize with Your Adversary: Former Ecuadorian President Jamil Mahuad discusses his part in ending his country’s long-standing conflict with Peru
• Research Summaries: When you Assume Too Much; Cultural Notes

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• Fair Enough? An Ethical Fitness Quiz for Negotiators: Shady dealing may work in the short term, but in the end you’ll undermine trust and tarnish your reputation
• The Art of Deal Diplomacy: Business negotiators who seek maximum gain for their organizations would do well to take a page from a classic text on diplomacy
• How to Negotiate Successfully Online: : Electronic media can be a boon for negotiators – if used right
• When You Shouldn’t Go It Alone: Recognizing when you’re in over your head and need an agent can help you come out on top in a negotiation
• Research Summaries: Speaking the Same Language; Negotiating Myths, Exposed

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• Risky Business: Trust in Negotiations. To maximize the joint gain created by a deal, both sides need to take risks. Here’s how negotiators can establish the necessary trust
• Negotiating in Three Dimensions: The right tactics at the wrong table will do you no good. Not only should you negotiate right, you should do the right negotiation.
• Do You Know When to Walk Away? Being able to recognize competitive traps means you can reframe the situation into one that’s more rewarding for everyone involved
• The Long, Hard Road to Peace: George Mitchell reflects on his role in the Northern Ireland peace talks and passes on lessons for others facing high-stakes negotiations
• Research Summaries: Self-Analysis and Negotiation; Being Fair and Getting What You Want

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• First You Have to Ask: When women don’t negotiate for themselves, their careers can suffer – and so can their organizations
• Winning and Blocking Coalitions: Bring Both to a Crowded Table. In a multiparty negotiation, you need a good offense to forward your interests and a good defense to thwart others’ aggressive moves. Coalitions can provide both
• Everybody’s Doing It: How to leverage the power of social proof – evidence from the environment about the “right” way to behave – to influence the outcome of a negotiation
• Great Expectations: Overconfidence can make the best negotiators overestimate their chances of success – and underestimate the value of wise tradeoffs
• Research Summaries: Your Own Worst Enemy? Negotiating Sacred Issues

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• Staying in the Game: When the other side moves to take control in a negotiation, you need to be ready with a countermove
• Do You Know Where to Look for the Right Cue? A keen awareness of nonverbal cues is a strategic asset for a negotiator
• When Self-Interest is Sabotage: Egocentrism causes us to see ourselves in the best possible light – so much so that we may miss where our best interests lie
• First, Find the Facts: When negotiators are squaring off over a contentious issue, joint fact finding can get talks off to the right start
• Research Summaries: Leading Horses to Water; Taking an Outside View

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• The Mythical Fixed Pie: If you believe victory always comes at the other party’s expense, you may leave real value on the negotiating table
• Playing it By Ear: Negotiation is improvisational, demanding quick, informed responses and decisions. But as jazz musicians know, it takes a lot of practice to make improvisions work
• When an Angry Public Wants to Be Heard: Approaching crisis communications as a negotiation rather than damage control may save the day
• True or False? Lie Detection at the Bargaining Table: Spotting the difference between what people say and what they feel is critical to success in negotiation
• Research Summaries: Transferring Negotiation Knowledge; Negotiating Systems

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