Negotiate Like a Pro

Humans at Work with Michael Glazer

The world is more polarized than ever which makes being able to persuade people to change their minds a skill we all need to develop. Listen to a world-renowned negotiator share techniques and tactics to help you successfully negotiate.

Simon Horton has taught negotiation tactics to everyone from hostage negotiators to CEOs at the world’s most successful companies and solicitors at some of the most prestigious law firms. Simon is a lecturer at Imperial College London and regularly shares his expertise on TV, radio and major newspapers. His latest book is titled Change Their Mind: 6 Steps to Persuade Anyone, Anytime.

If you enjoy the show, please rate it on Spotify. Your rating helps more people like you discover the podcast!

Episode Highlights

7:49 Common persuasion pitfalls

10:17 The mindset hostage negotiators adopt going into a negotiation

13:05 The importance of checking in and asking for permission

16:19 How a negotiation pro handles objections when training other pros

19:10 Why you should be clear and ambitious with your negotiation goals

24:50 What info to gather from your negotiation partner and how to use it well

27:42 Example: using simple info to accomplish something extraordinary

33:34 Being a good listener can yield a lot more than you think.

35:49 How to shape messages to be more persuasive

42:40 When to paraphrase and when to repeat during negotiations

Simon’s view on the greatest unmet wellbeing need at work today

"Coming back to the workplace post pandemic. I think there's a big question that hasn't yet been resolved that many organizations and individuals see it as binary, either you've got to come back into the office all the time forevermore, or no, we're never going back to the office. And I think there are pros and cons of each that do have a lot of mental well being and mental health repercussions. I think it's context specific.

I don't think that there is a overriding principle that solves the problem, other than [building an understanding of] 'what's your situation right now? What's the organization's situation right now? What is the office requirement that is best for both parties in their situation?' Which, thinking about it, comes to negotiation."

What “working with humans” means to Simon

“I often encourage my clients to drop the mask of the job title and work with the other person as a human being, which allows them to drop their mask and operate as a human being as well...So, you show your human side first and relate to them as a human. The other side will typically feel tremendously relieved. [They'll think,] "Whew! Great, I don't have to wear that mask all the time." And, you're going to work together brilliantly and you're going to get much better outcomes in your negotiations for all parties.”

Resources

Follow: Simon on LinkedIn

Visit: Negotiation Mastery website

Read: Change Their Mind: 6 Steps to Persuade Anyone, Anytime.