Best Negotiation Quotes & Sayings

We face an enemy that is brutal. There is no negotiation with these people. You can't try to talk reason into these totalitarians. — George W. Bush

Policy makers and business leaders take note: money matters. But often the best use of money as a motivator is to pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table - so that people can focus on the work rather than on the cash. — Daniel H. Pink

The common Calvinist experience of life as a refugee, or of being part of a host community that received refugees, led to lasting international connections between individuals and communities...As churches became established in Switzerland, the Palatinate, Scotland, England and Bearn, and the churches in the Netherlands, France, Hungary and Poland battled for legal recognition and survival, princely courts, noble houses, universities and colleges also became locations for interactions between many Calvinists. Theologians, clergy, students, booksellers, merchants, diplomats, courtiers and military officers became involved in networks of personal contacts, correspondence, teaching and negotiation. — Graeme Murdock

Whatever promises offered by dictators in any negotiated settlement, no one should ever forget that the dictators may promise anything to secure submission from their democratic opponents, and then brazenly violate those same agreements. — Gene Sharp

Biblical interpretation is not a passive matter. It requires our own active negotiation. When we pretend that, deep down, all the voices are really saying the same thing and ought to be able to get along, we forfeit our responsibility as inheritors of this richly, sometimes disturbingly, contradictive literature. — Timothy Beal

Meanwhile, the annual U.N. climate summit, which remains the best hope for a political breakthrough on climate action, has started to seem less like a forum for serious negotiation than a very costly and high-carbon group therapy session, a place for the representatives of the most vulnerable countries in the world to vent their grief and rage while low-level representatives of the nations largely responsible for their tragedies stare at their shoes. — Anonymous

Negotiation is a give-and-take process, but being in control of the process is the only way to be successful at it. — Celso Cukierkorn

Be reasonable. Friendly. The first rule of negotiation her dad taught her was to find out what the other person wanted and figure out a way you could convince them you'd be able to supply it. That, and always be realistic about what was going on. — Danielle Monsch

Victoria Lane: What hints or tips would you give for other artists who are starting a negotiation with an institution for their archive?

Barbara Stevini: I would tell them they need to work out what would they like their archive to do and for whom. It's actually the same questions I would ask when going into any institution or doing a placement - what is the context? What is the motivation I have for a placement there? What is the motivation of that hosting organisation to receive it? Is there any fusion of appropriately motivated endeavor from which something can happen from the placement of an archive here, for both parties concerned? I think those questions to be asked about doing anything at all, otherwise you're contaminating the planet aren't you? — Victoria Lane

The art of negotiation is perhaps what most deeply distinguishes man from the animals, and it is this art and this will to negotiate that has brought man forward, elevated him beyond the animals. — Harry Martinson

The thread of will-they-or-won't-they was the real driver of every word and glance and shift of body.
So ... this was a date, Blay thought. A subtextual negotiation slipcovered in talk of books read and music enjoyed. — J.R. Ward

The client's question, "Are we getting the best deal?" (price negotiation) is very different from "Can we afford this?" (value justification); it is important to understand the difference. — Mahan Khalsa

Assumptions can blind you; hypotheses can guide you. Good negotiators expect surprises; great negotiators reveal the surprises. Negotiation should be seen as a process of discovery. If you think you're too smart to discover anything new, then you will be a terrible negotiator. Until you know who or what you are dealing with, you are actually in the dark and should proceed with caution. Listening well does not come easily to most. By truly listening, you will disarm your opponent, giving them a sense of calm and a feeling of safety. Talking about wants gives us an illusion of control; needs are required to survive and make us feel vulnerable. The biggest mistake a negotiator can make is to rush things. By slowing down the process, you are able to calm down the situation. A soothing but confident voice helps in confrontational situations. Mirroring relies on the fact that we fear what's different and are drawn to what's similar. — Book Summary

He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of negotiation. — Chris Voss

Because I'm fat, people believe I'm somehow vulnerable and easy to handle in a negotiation. Ever try to negotiate with a fat guy? We can be mean: Marvin Davis, Harvey Weinstein, Hermann Goering. No one screws around with us for long. — Bernie Brillstein

It's your turn to talk," Tod said when several seconds had elapsed in pensive, angry silence from the hellion. "Negotiation is like playing tennis with words instead of balls. I thought you'd be better at this, considering your apparent lack of balls. — Rachel Vincent

Solving the problem means helping the customer to understand why you're the best person for the job — Chris Murray

While hereditary chiefs inhabit the apex of our traditional social systems, it would be a mistake to think they hold all the power. They aren't kings. They aren't dictators. They're answerable to their clans and their matriarchs. All decisions that affect our communities require lengthy, deliberate discussions and careful negotiation. — Eden Robinson

Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their own laws. In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want - not only you, your whole family and all people like you. — Ai Weiwei

Male appreciation hardened his features from doubt to certainty. Boobs, the best negotiation strategy of them all. She thanked the Lord and her genetics for her great rack. — Kate Meader

The art of negotiation favored not the one with the better odds but the one who could convince his opponents that his were the best odds. — Grace Draven

This isn't a negotiation. I want to make you cum, Lily. I am being very nice to you. It would be in your best interest to take my gift as it is and not be greedy. — Teresa Mummert

The immersive stories of This Is Paradise are a lithe blend of formal invention and traditional narrative pleasures. As such they reflect Kristiana Kahakauwila's intimate but expansive vision of a Hawai'i forged from the collisions of past and present, here and there. Her protagonists are as richly distinctive as the pidgin they speak, and yet each struggles profoundly with identity-that negotiation between ourselves and the world, which is at once Hawaiian, American, universally and compellingly human. — Peter Ho Davies

Food is one of my favourite things. Though I certainly know lots of people who happen to be happily married who don't have food play the role in it that it plays in my life. And I don't know how they do it, and frankly I feel so bad for them because I just love food and one of my favourite things is asking, "What do we want for dinner? What do we feel like eating?" That wonderful negotiation that goes on several times a week about what "we" feel like. — Nora Ephron

Sometimes directly asking for what you want is not the best way to achieve a desired result." As this story shows, good negotiation is a continual exploration of the realm of possibilities. — George H. Ross

Negotiation talks are the best way to solve anything. We must replace wars and weapons with negotiations and talks. — Akbar Ganji

To win a negotiation you have to show you're willing to walk away. And the best way to show you're willing to walk away is to walk away. — Michael Weston

I think each negotiation should be based on what's the best decision - taking everything into account, not taking one thing into account. — Tony La Russa

The point is that television does not reveal who the best man is. In fact, television makes impossible the determination of who is better than whom, if we mean by 'better' such things as more capable in negotiation, more imaginative in executive skill, more knowledgeable about international affairs, more understanding of the interrelations of economic systems, and so on. The reason has, almost entirely, to do with 'image.' But not because politicians are preoccupied with presenting themselves in the best possible light. After all, who isn't? It is a rare and deeply disturbed person who does not wish to project a favorable image. But television gives image a bad name. For on television the politician does not so much offer the audience an image of himself, as offer himself as an image of the audience. And therein lies one of the most powerful influences of the television commercial on political discourse. — Neil Postman

The best move you can make in negotiation is to think of an incentive the other person hasn't even thought of - and then meet it. — Eli Broad

We shall continue, in this era of negotiation, to work for the limitation of nuclear arms and to reduce the danger of confrontation between the great powers. — Richard M. Nixon

My negotiation skills are are on par with George Bush's reading ability. And just like Dubya, every time I've tried to put forth an effort, I am reminded that my only true strength lies in drinking. — Chelsea Handler

Without Thomas Jefferson and his Declaration of Independence, there would have been no American revolution that announced universal principles of liberty. Without his participation by the side of the unforgettable Marquis de Lafayette, there would have been no French proclamation of The Rights of Man. Without his brilliant negotiation of the Louisiana treaty, there would be no United States of America. Without Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, there would have been no Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom, and no basis for the most precious clause of our most prized element of our imperishable Bill of Rights - the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. — Christopher Hitchens

Unlike the Medicare provisions, which were brought in by negotiation between the two principal parties, 'Obamacare' was the initiative of a single party, did not have the consent of the opposition and was concealed within 2,000 pages of legislative jargon that was never properly explained either to the public or to the members of Congress. Not surprisingly, therefore, the legislation has led to a polarization of opinion and a breakdown in the political process, each side claiming to represent the interests of the people, but neither side convinced that 'the people' includes those who did not vote for it. — Roger Scruton

We cannot negotiate with people who say what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable.
[ The Berlin Crisis: Radio and Television Address to the American People (The White House, July 25, 1961)] — John F. Kennedy

Everybody sells something to somebody every day, whether it's a product, a service or just a case of making sure that they get their own way. — Chris Murray

And so was the synagogue lifted and moved. It was in 1783 that wheels were attached, making the shtetl's ever-changing negotiation of Jewishness and Humanness less of a schlep. — Jonathan Safran Foer

What we heard loud and clear is that the Battle Between the Sexes is over. It was a draw. Now we're engaged in Negotiation Between the Sexes. — Maria Shriver

Jihad and the rifle alone. NO negotiations, NO conferences and NO dialogue — Sheikh Abdullah

What is negotiation but the accumulation of small lies leading to advantage? — Felix Dennis

We're all somebody's prospect; we're all somebody's customer. — Chris Murray

One of the things that happens in the world is that people try to avoid conflict. Whereas in the home, you can't. You'll end up getting divorced or becoming estranged from your kids. Keep in mind, the hardest part of any negotiation is agreeing to start it. Once you've gotten past that emotional barrier, the solutions usually present themselves. — Bruce Feiler

As long as people are talking instead of fighting, nobody loses very much blood - unless he happens to bite his tongue. — David Eddings

World War I was not inevitable, as many historians say. It could have been avoided, and it was a diplomatically botched negotiation. — Richard Holbrooke

The need is not for the creation of new analytical techniques specially designed for the negotiation process, but rather for the creative use of analytical thinking that exploits existing techniques. — Howard Raiffa

Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit in you? How helpful and creative are you in solving challenges? Have you attained communication and negotiation excellence status? Can you effectively market yourself and your service/product? How effective are you at selling your vision? The answers will determine how far your influence will go. — Archibald Marwizi

In a negotiation, we must find a solution that pleases everyone, because no one accepts that they must lose and that the other must win ... Both must win! — Nabil N. Jamal

Coming unto the Lord is not a negotiation, but a surrender. — Neal A. Maxwell

I would've a whole lot rather had Carly Fiorina over there doing our negotiation than John Kerry. Maybe we would've gotten a deal where we didn't give everything away.But the issue for us is to have a Congress that stands up and says not only no, but hell no, to this money going to a [Iran] regime that is going to use it for terror ... — Rick Perry

Under (Lyndon) Johnson, the Senate functions like a Greek tragedy. All the action takes place offstage, before the play begins. Nothing is left for the participants but the enactment of their prescribed roles. — Bobby Baker

If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, that you know nothing but the truth and that is final, you will get nothing. — Harri Holkeri

Terrorism and negotiations simply don't go together. — Moshe Arens

It is accordance with our determination to refrain from aggression and build up a sentiment and practice among nations more favorable to peacethat we have incurred the consent of fourteen important nations to the negotiation of a treaty condemning recourse to war, renouncing it as an instrument of national policy. — Calvin Coolidge

Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good-faith negotiation. — Martin Luther King Jr.

If you keep groaning, please do it to a rythmn I can dance to. — Ashleigh Brilliant

Three rules of good negotiation:
1. Know what the other party wants.
2. Listen carefully.
3. Don't let your emotions get in the way of a good deal. — Betty Liu