There are many misconceptions about negotiation. Shown below are the most common myths. Believing these can hamper your ability to become a more skilled negotiator. The more you know about perceptions about negotiation, the better able you will be to alter your beliefs and behavior in a negotiation situation.
| Myths | Debunking the Myth |
|---|---|
| Negotiations are distributive | Many people believe that all negotiations are win-lose negotiations. If you believe this, you will fail to engage in collaborative negotiations (win-win). |
| You need to be either tough or soft | Instead of taking a tough or soft stance, it is better to take a reasoned approach based on knowledge that better outcomes (win-win) often can be achieved through working cooperatively instead of competitively. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be firm, however, you should guard against being rigid. If you are too soft and make early concessions, you may preserve your relationship with the opposing negotiator, but lose opportunities to reach your own negotiation goals. |
| Good negotiators are born | This myth is false. Most excellent negotiators become superior by practicing and getting feedback on their skills. You too can learn to be a strong negotiator, but you have to take the time to learn and practice. |
| Experience is a great teacher | Experience can help a great deal, but is limited, because you do not always get corrective feedback that can help you improve your negotiation skills. As a matter of fact, you may learn the wrong lessons! |
| Good negotiators take risks | Even though tough negotiators can appear impressive, very few are effective. A strong negotiator takes calculated risks. That is they evaluate strategies and tactics which help them to excel in negotiation situations. Knowing when and if to take risks comes from knowledge of the negotiating situation, common sense, and good judgment. |
| Negotiators rely on intuition | Effective negotiations require deliberate planning. As you will see in this course, the approach is systematic and requires more preparation than intuition. Does intuition play a part? Certainly with more experience, one learns how to rely on instincts. But intuition will never replace preparation and making decisions based on concrete information. |
Source: Adapted from Carrell & Heavrin. (2008). The mind and heart of the negotiator, pp. 9-10. Pearson/Prentice Hall.