The Professional Negotiator’s Best Advice Is…

About 6 times a year, my leadership group sees a presentation by a professional speaker. The topics are broad ranging.

One such speaker was a professional negotiator. (I thought I had married the only professional negotiator in the world. ?)

Anyway, Mr. Pro Negotiator had a recommendation that I’ve made a part of my life. “Never start a question with “why?” Instead, if you can, use “what?”

Consider:

• “Why’d you wear a pink shirt today?”
• “Why’d did you specify my competitor’s product?”
• “Why don’t you quit smoking?”

Imagine your response, being on the receiving end of those questions. Defensive, right?

Replace:

• “What made you decide on a pink shirt today?”
• “What made you decide to use that product?”
• “What could help you quit the smoking habit?

Now we’ve tapped into the thinking brain by changing one word.

The payoff is to get real answers, and answers more important than shirt color.

Until next time.