Subtle tools of persuasion: Jedi mind tricks!?

What distinguishes a good negotiator from an excellent negotiator? Excellent negotiators understand the psychology of persuasion and get to work on their counterparts before they start negotiating.

Such persuasion before the negotiation can take many forms and mostly goes unnoticed unless the other party has been trained to recognise it.

Persuasive tools commonly deployed prior to negotiation can take various forms but always seek to put the other party in a state of mind that accelerates the negotiation and reduces resistance.

Imagine, for example, a customer looking to make a high-value purchase. Now, imagine the seller starting with a bit of small talk. The seller tells the customer a seemingly unrelated story about how a wealthy friend of his just purchased a more expensive item on the spot.

At first glance, the story about the seller’s friend appears inconsequential. However, by ‘contrasting’ the customer’s less expensive purchase with the more expensive purchase of his friend, the seller may be able to subtly influence the customer. Perhaps the customer will subconsciously compare himself to the seller’s wealthy friend and seek to compete with him by downplaying the significance of his purchase? This would, of course, play right into the hands of the seller, who wants the customer to refrain from investigating or negotiating his purchase!

Here is another example of how a negotiator may seek influence prior to negotiation. Imagine the start of a complex negotiation. Now, imagine one party repeatedly sprinkling in messages about how the parties are looking for a ‘win-win solution’, referring to the parties as ‘professional problem solvers’, praising signs of pragmatism or emphasising the enormous mutual benefits of the potential deal.

The intention of these statements would be to ‘prime’ the other party for cooperation by encouraging the other party to adopt a cooperative and problem-solving mindset (rather than an antagonistic or competitive mindset that many negotiators default to in the heat of battle).

Regardless of your views, even if you are opposed to their use, you must understand these subtle tools of persuasion to effectively defend against them.

Negotiations do not start when we start having a disagreement about something. Negotiations start the second we first interact with someone. Skilled negotiators know this and will get to work before the other party gets to the negotiation table.

Now go forth and negotiate responsibly – may the Force be with you!