Tag archive: personality-traits
Knowing the Difference Between Needs and Wants
The Important Difference Between Needs and Wants: A Guide to Action
How to know when you are dealing with a bad negotiator
If you are looking to take your negotiation skills to the next level from the comfort of your own home, check out our virtual negotiation programs.
Have you ever dealt with someone who makes it hard to get to an agreement? There are some negotiators out there who do not have the right skills or personality traits to be good at business negotiations. We have discussed here on Negotiation Space what makes a good negotiator. According to Dr. Chester Karrass, good negotiatorspossess the following seven traits:
- Planning skill
- Ability to think clearly under stress
- General practical intelligence
- Verbal ability
- Product knowledge
- Personal integrity
- Ability to perceive and use power
We can then surmise that someone who has bad planning skills, does not deal well with stress, had little integrity, and so forth, will be a bad negotiator. You should look for these clues as you start your negotiation:
- Does the other party seem stressed or disorganized?
- Can the other party give detailed answers to questions about the product or service in question?
- Does the other party seem to have a hard time making him/herself understood?
Another clue may be physical. According to Anne Fisher, a columnist for Fortune Magazine, in an article entitled “Negotiating a Deal? Clues on Your Opponent’s Psyche,” sneaking a peak at the other party’s right hand can be helpful. It turns out that some research has shown that the difference in size between the second and third fingers in the right hand indicates the exposure to testosterone. The article says:
"Testosterone is a hormone associated with status-seeking and a need to save face," notes Adam Galinsky, the Kellogg professor who co-wrote the study. "It makes a powerful difference in how people respond to situations. "People with low testosterone -- that is, with a noticeable difference in the length of their second and fourth digits -- may perceive that they're being treated unfairly, but they're likely to go sulk in a corner." However, Galinsky says, "If you're looking across a bargaining table at someone who has a slight difference, or no difference, between the second and fourth digits, be careful." Make an extra effort to mollify that person and stroke his ego, because doing otherwise is "like slapping a sleeping tiger."
How do you know when you are dealing with someone who will make getting a deal nearly impossible?
Do you have what it takes to be a great negotiator?
- Self-confidence
- Sound business judgment allowing them to discern what is important and what is not
- Ability to tolerate ambiguity and conflict
- Patience—and the wisdom to know when to wait and when to move
- Integrity
- Open-mindedness
- Ability to read other people and find out if there are hidden issues
- Commitment to planning, strategy and understanding what is being negotiated
- Stable personality that doesn’t need approval or to be liked
It's all about people
What's your personality?
The Making of a Good Negotiator
If you are looking to take your negotiation skills to the next level from the comfort of your own home, check out our virtual negotiation programs
Are good negotiators born or made? Certainly, there are innate personality traits that make some people become good, or even great, negotiators. However, there are some skills that can be learned, which also improve your negotiation ability. Here are some traits and skills of a good negotiator:
- Practical intelligence/common sense
- Verbal ability
- Ability to think and communicate clearly under stress
- Personal integrity
- Good self-esteem
- Emotional intelligence (ability to understand others, their motivations/reactions)
- Aspiration to achieve
- Planning skill
- Product knowledge
- Ability to research and understand market conditions
- Ability to stay calm under pressure
- Ability to deal with uncertainty
It could be argued that even if you are not born with some of these traits, you can develop them over time. Sometimes you can compensate for any areas of weakness by becoming highly adept at other areas. For instance, you may not have great verbal skills and so you communicate better in writing. Just having or developing these traits is not enough. These traits simply provide the foundation for being able to negotiate well. Negotiation itself is a skill that you can learn through training seminars like the many offered by Karrass. Which do you think the number one skill or trait needed by good negotiators?