Kwame Christian, a business lawyer and the Director of the American Negotiation Institute, shares insightful strategies for negotiating from a position of perceived weakness. He emphasizes the importance of preparation and researching the other party to level the playing field. Kwame discusses the emotional toll of power imbalances and the necessity of self-awareness in negotiations. His tips on leveraging personal strengths and employing strategic questioning can lead to more collaborative outcomes, even in challenging situations.
38:45
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Systematic Negotiation Preparation
Prepare systematically for negotiations, especially when the other side has more leverage.
Use a checklist to cover all crucial aspects, including research and potential gaps in your understanding.
insights INSIGHT
Mutual Gains Through Preparation
Negotiation preparation not only benefits you but also the other party.
Studies show that prepared negotiators create more value for both sides, leading to better outcomes overall.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Research the Individual
Research the other person as an individual, beyond just their company and the deal.
Look for public information like LinkedIn profiles, social media, and blog posts to find points of connection and potential sensitivities.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In this book, Daniel Kahneman takes readers on a tour of the mind, explaining how the two systems of thought shape our judgments and decisions. System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional, while System 2 is slower, effortful, and logical. Kahneman discusses the impact of cognitive biases, the difficulties of predicting future happiness, and the effects of overconfidence on corporate strategies. He offers practical insights into how to guard against mental glitches and how to benefit from slow thinking in both personal and business life. The book also explores the distinction between the 'experiencing self' and the 'remembering self' and their roles in our perception of happiness.
Kwame Christian: American Negotiation Institute
Kwame Christian is a business lawyer and the Director of the American Negotiation Institute. His TEDx Talk, Finding Confidence in Conflict, was the most popular TED Talk on the topic of conflict of 2017.
Today, he’s working extensively with procurement departments within companies to help them make better deals. Kwame hosts the top negotiation podcast, Negotiate Anything and is the author of the book Finding Confidence in Conflict: How to Negotiate Anything and Live Your Best Life*.
In this conversation, Kwame and I discuss walking into a negotiation situation when someone else has more leverage, power, or authority. Yes, there are still many things you can do to influence a positive outcome for both parties — and we detail several practical actions almost anybody can take.
Key Points
Preparation before entering into negotiation is essential. Research supports that you will do better, even if the tables are tilted to one side.
Finding what is publicly available about the other party before you go into a conversation can be very useful to both parties.
Our tendency is to give things away before we are even certain the other party wants them.
Your self-awareness and emotional state are key to acknowledge going into negotiation. Beware feeling too positive about the potential outcome.
Resources Mentioned
Kwame’s Ultimate Negotiation Guide
Negotiate Anything podcast
Finding Confidence in Conflict: How to Negotiate Anything and Live Your Best Life* by Kwame Christian
Thinking Fast and Slow* by Daniel Kahneman
Book Notes
Download my highlights from Finding Confidence in Conflict in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes
Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, with Chris Voss (episode 262)
Negotiation Tactics for Results, with Kwame Christian (episode 311)
Enhance Your Self-Awareness, with Daniel Goleman (episode 353)
Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.
Coaching for Leaders 
