DeepSummary
In this episode, Matt Abrahams interviews Maggie Neal, a professor emerita at Stanford Graduate School of Business, about the art of negotiation and how to get more of what you want. Neal emphasizes the importance of reframing negotiations as collaborative problem-solving rather than adversarial battles.
Neal provides strategies for effective negotiation preparation, such as understanding alternatives, setting a reservation price, and identifying aspirations. She also discusses the concept of chunking, which involves negotiating multiple issues simultaneously to find areas of mutual benefit.
Neal shares insights on the role of emotions in negotiation and the importance of managing emotions during the process. Additionally, she offers her best communication advice and shares communicators she admires, highlighting the value of seeking insights from unlikely sources.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Reframe negotiations as collaborative problem-solving rather than adversarial battles.
- Understand your alternatives, set a reservation price, and identify aspirations to prepare effectively for negotiations.
- Use the strategy of chunking to negotiate multiple issues simultaneously and find areas of mutual benefit.
- Manage emotions during negotiations, as different emotions can influence the depth and systematicity of thinking.
- Be open to insights from unlikely sources, as unique perspectives can enhance your negotiation approach.
- Understand your counterpart's interests, motivations, and challenges to craft proposals they would be more likely to accept.
- Set aspirations and focus on them as a key ingredient for successful negotiations.
- Approach negotiations with the mindset of making yourself better off while also presenting proposals that benefit your counterpart.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “And what I found, Matt, is that rarely, rarely identify an aspiration. Sometimes they will identify a reservation price. Absolutely. Sometimes there are alternatives, yes. But they rarely use what I think is really one of the secret ingredients in successful negotiation, which is setting an aspiration and having a focus, from your perspective, on that aspiration.“ by Maggie Neal
- “Part of what we want to do is we want to be able to negotiate multiple issues simultaneously. And the reason we want to do that is because not every issue is equally important to both of us.“ by Maggie Neal
- “There's been a fair amount of research on the emotional aspect of negotiation. So the first thing I would like to say, which is sort of counterintuitive, is that emotions affect how we think, and the different types of emotions affect how systematic our thinking is.“ by Maggie Neal
- “Insight often arrives from unlikely sources.“ by Maggie Neal
Entities
Person
Organization
Book
Episode Information
Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques
Stanford GSB
6/4/24
Whether we realize it or not, we negotiate everyday. But when we approach these situations as a win-or-lose battle, we’re already showing resistance, and setting ourselves up for difficulty. But what if you reframed the whole idea, to think of a negotiation not as a fight, but as a problem-solving exercise involving emotions?
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Matt Abrahams speaks with Stanford GSB Professor Emeritus Margaret Neale about what she has learned in her decades of researching negotiation and the steps that lead to more collaborative problem-solving.
Listen as Neale shares tips on how to approach negotiations with intention, and what strategies can help us more easily communicate our wants and needs. She is the coauthor of Getting (More of) What You Want: How the Secrets of Economics and Psychology Can Help You Negotiate Anything, in Business and in Life.
Episode Reference Links:
- Stanford Profile: Margaret Ann Neale
- Maggie’s Book: Getting (More of) What You Want
- Original Episode: Ep.15 The Art of Negotiation: How to Get More of What You Want Website / YouTube
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Host Matt Abrahams introduces guest Maggie Neale, the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management Emerita at Stanford GSB
(00:01:22) Definition of Negotiation
Negotiation as collaborative problem-solving, emphasizing mutual benefit over adversarial tactics
(00:04:28) Planning and Preparation
Strategies for preparing for negotiations, including understanding alternatives and setting a reservation price.
(00:08:41) Structuring Negotiation Messages
Structuring negotiation messages, including the concept of chunking multiple issues together.
(00:10:17) Role of Emotion in Negotiation
How different emotions influence thinking and the importance of managing emotions in negotiation.
(00:11:31) Best Communication Advice
Maggie shares her best communication advice, a communicator she admires, and ingredients for successful communication.
(00:14:34) Conclusion
Think Fast, Talk Smart is a podcast produced by Stanford Graduate School of Business and hosted by Matt Abrahams. Each episode provides concrete, easy-to-implement tools and techniques to help you hone and enhance your communication.
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