Practice Negotiating Every Day

 Thu 02 Sept 2021

Practice Negotiating Every Day

Low-stakes negotiations — like asking your cable company for a better rate or asking for a discount when offering to pay cash — may not seem worth it. But these low-stakes negotiation opportunities can boost your confidence when it comes to your next high-stakes negotiations (like asking for a raise or countering a job offer). To practice negotiating more frequently, ask yourself the following questions about situations you encounter in your everyday life:

    Is this situation fair? Are others being offered better compensation, or do they benefit from fewer responsibilities, more resources, a bonus, or a better (cheaper, faster) deal?
    Do I deserve a better or fairer outcome than what I’ve been offered?
    Am I feeling uneasy or hesitant about the situation or offer? Would a more confident version of me make a request to get a better or more fair outcome?

Recognizing and evaluating potential opportunities to negotiate — weighing the financial, emotional, moral, or psychological trade-offs — will open the door to even better outcomes when the stakes are high.
This tip is adapted from “We Often Overlook Opportunities to Negotiate,” by Suzanne de Janasz