The drama triangle is a social model that was first written about by Dr. Stephen Karpman, 40 odd years ago. Under the theory, people in conflict play one (or...

Quite often your negotiation counterpart will try to pressure you into doing a "quick" deal. This may be because they don't value your business and don't wa...

The great 1988 power-ballad “In The Living Years” by Mike and the Mechanics portrays a son lamenting how he and his father were for ever “talking past each o...

The Gibbons Review (2007)[1] of workplace dispute resolution recommended that early-stage mediation be used to resolve workplace disputes. Since then HR prof...

Make sure you Anchor Most important first step in making any concessions in negotiation is to anchor the original offer. Spend some time legitimising your o...

Virgil’s famous saying "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" roughly translates to: "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts". Virgil was writing about his Greek enemies – ...

It's important when entering any negotiation to make sure that your counterpart has the decision-making power to conclude your discussions. According to a ...

A study in reciprocity found that a waitress who gives a single sweet to each dinner guest at the end of a meal leads to an average 3.3.% increase in the tip...

1. Set your target price (your goal). 2. When calculating your target price use precise non-round numbers like, say, £437,500 rather than £438,000. It gives ...

It you're anything like me you hate choosing your menu options when you're in a restaurant serving lots of food that you really love. I just hate making up ...

Elsewhere in this blog I extol the virtues of "anchoring" - stating a price early on as a means of setting expectations. This is a good psychological tactic...

A "snow job" is a particularly common tactic negotiation designed to confuse and distract you - and to tie up your resources. The American Management Associ...

A bogey is a particular issue that one side in negotiation pretends is vitally important to the deal, though in reality it is unimportant. By agreeing to con...

According to studies our peak mental agility occurs 2-4 hours after waking up. After that our willpower slowly leaks away. Carl Icahn - the U.S. billionaire ...

I have only done one co-mediation. It was arranged in a hurry when I was volunteering for the Free Mediation Project at the Royal Courts of Justice. I only h...

"Mirroring" is a great technique that mediators can use to build rapport with the parties. This can range from mirroring the parties' posture, tone, but mor...

A study by the American Management Association of negotiation tactics found the following were the most commonly used: 1. Highball/Lowball – making an extre...

It’s a truism that managing negotiations is 70% EQ and 30% IQ. If you don’t manage your own, and your opposite number’s emotions….YOU WILL LIKELY FAIL. The 2...

The Joint Session comes in for a lot of criticism: · The joint session is increasingly unpopular in the U.S. Which is partly driven (IMHO) by the parties’ law...

Notes to My Cousin Vinny: How to Sabotage a Mediation 1. Don't bother delivering a Statement of Issues or a Mediation Brief in advance. However, if you fe...