Ask for More: 10 Questions to Negotiate Anything

The best negotiators and leaders are the ones who ask the right questions and therefore get the right information to help them make better deals.

Negotiators who ask themselves what questions obtain higher levels of internal self-awareness that leads to better business and relationship outcomes.

Why is a question we tend to use when assigning blame, either to others or ourselves. Research shows that asking ourselves why puts us in a self-justifying mood and leads to distorted, self-serving answers.

Expert negotiators know that their greatest source of strength in negotiation is not bluster but knowledge. Expert negotiation requires you to understand yourself and someone else well enough to conduct a conversation that produces value for both parties. But most people don’t ask the right questions to acquire that knowledge.

Don’t ask a question that starts with a non-action verb (like variations on “be” and “do”).

onion kulcha. And I might tell you how optimistic I was that I’d go back. “Tell me” is a magic question that opens up an entire world to your view.

Any negotiation, any steering conversation, has to begin with you. You need to steer from the very beginning, by asking yourself the right questions before you sit down with anyone else. The best negotiations, relationships, or client interactions start with you—a process of self-discovery that helps you get clarity on who you are and what you want

To steer effectively, you need to see, hear, and understand where you’re going.

negotiation is any conversation in which you are steering a relationship.