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What children can teach us in negotiation



Never underestimate the negotiation capabilities of children. Being a young parent, I have realised how good kids are at negotiating. My 4-year-old daughter is already a very skilful negotiator using a variety of tactics to her advantage providing her with a successful outcome most of the time.
She knows when to approach me to ask for something. Usually it is when I am busy or when I am just about to go on a work trip or have just returned from a work trip, playing with my conscious and guilt that I had been away again for some time.
It is also how she makes the request. She puts a lot of effort into this by using her cutest smile, playing with my emotions and making it almost impossible to say no. Charm and an emotional connection go a long way.
Children know how hard it is for their parents to say no when they put on their cutest smiles. People are emotional and playing on these emotions gets you a better negotiation outcome.
She knows who to ask and when to ask. She knows in which situations I am more likely to say yes than my husband and the other way around.
Then she would repeat the request over and over again. She is using the broken record tactic, repeating the same request again and again until I finally give in. The broken record tactic wears you out and eventually you say yes.
She does not worry about what other people think of her, she only has her eye on the prize.

Time and circumstances
She uses time and circumstances to her advantage as it is not just about asking what you want, it is also the timing when to ask and the circumstances the other party might be in. In my case it is when I am busy so it is easier to say yes because I don’t have much time. Circumstances are also a big factor, in my case it is when I am back from a work trip playing with my guilt that I have been away, meaning that I am vulnerable and more likely to say yes.

The broken record
She is repeating over and over again what she wants. Each time she asks reinforces again her demand until you stop ignoring it. Persistence is the key to any negotiation with the refusal to accept ‘no’.

Why
She challenges everything that is not positive to her proposal with why. In any negotiation if you challenge the proposals with why puts the other party under pressure to explain and divulge valuable information that you may not have had in the first place.

www.octalonegotiation.com

#negotiationskills #negotiate #negotiateforbusiness

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