Ask good questions

Place milestones and deadlines in your contract to ensure that commitments are being met.

Consider agreeing to meet at regular intervals throughout the life of the contract to check in and, if necessary, renegotiate.

In addition, adding a dispute-resolution clause...

Rather than making one offer at a time, consider presenting several offers at once. This strategy of presenting multiple offers simultaneously decreases the odds of impasse and can promote more creative solutions.

If your counterpart rejects all of them, ask him to tell you which one he lik...

Carefully negotiate how you will negotiate in advance. Discussing procedural issues will clear the way for much more focused talks.

Don’t assume you’re all on the same page when it comes to determining when to meet, who should be present, what your agenda will be, and so o...

You and your counterpart may be more collaborative and likely to reach an agreement if you spend even just a few minutes trying to get to know each other.

If you’re negotiating over email, even a brief introductory phone call may make a difference. This is one of the most...

In essence, a bet about how future events will unfold.

Works best when negociations get stuck because of disagreements on how certain scenarios will play over time.

E. g.: if you doubt a contractor’s claims that he can finish your home renovation pr...

Resist the common urge to think about what you’re going to say next while your counterpart is talking and listen carefully to her arguments, then paraphrase what you believe she said to check your understanding. 

Acknowledge any difficult feelings, like frustration, behind the messag...

Try to identify issues that your counterpart cares deeply about that you value less. Then propose making a concession on that issue in exchange for a concession from her on an issue you value highly.

The first number mentioned in a negotiation, however arbitrary, exerts a powerful influence on the negotiation that follows.

You can avoid being the next victim of the anchoring bias by making the first offer (or offers) and trying to anchor talks in your preferred direct...