Empathy plays a crucial role in business conversations, as most individuals tend to hide their true feelings due to discomfort with vulnerability. By personalizing the situation and using a technique like guessing, one can effectively uncover hidden emotions and allow the other person to open up. This approach helps to shift the power dynamic, making the individual feel more in control of the situation.
Kwame Christian: Negotiate Anything
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*.
Key Points
Three points to the breakdown of communication:
The Frame (the storyline)
The Pace (how fast)
The Direction (what issues you’re talking about)
Three steps of compassionate curiosity:
Acknowledging emotions
Getting curious with compassion
Joint problem solving
Resources Mentioned
Kwame’s Negotiation guide
Negotiate Anything podcast by Kwame Christian
Finding Confidence in Conflict: How to Negotiate Anything and Live Your Best Life* by Kwame Christian
Anchoring episode on Negotiate Anything
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)
Have Conversations That Matter, with Celeste Headlee (episode 344)
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