From the course: Negotiating with Agility

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Four good ways to say yes

Four good ways to say yes

From the course: Negotiating with Agility

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Four good ways to say yes

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- Your goal in negotiation is getting to yes. But getting agreements to stick depends on saying yes the right way. Compare these two different ways of saying yes to a deal. Here's version one. - Yes, this is terrific. Thank you. Look, I know you've really extended yourself to make this deal, and you can count on me to make sure it works for you, too. - And now, here's version two. - All right. I'd hope to do a little bit better, but I can make it work. So, thank you. - The negotiator here says yes in both cases. But her underlying messages are very different. In the first one, she bubbles with enthusiasm, promising to work hard to make sure the outcome is great for the other party, too. She hopes the commitment she's expressing will be reciprocated. In the second version where she says she had hoped to do better, this has a different purpose. She could be saying this because she thinks her counterpart needs an ego boost. Or that person needs evidence to win someone's approval of the…

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