Every now and then, we get into conversations and negotiations and we get stuck.

We get stuck because we (feel we) are right.

And the reason it’s hard to drive the point home is that we want to drive the point home.

But the person on the other side would rather not get the point.

If we care about the point so much, we first have to let it go.

We have to step out of our world into theirs

We have to let them know that we care about them, more than we care about our point.

A good start is to take a step back.

To ask
To listen
To let them know that we understand how they feel. The stakes. The opportunity. Their position.

Then, we’ll see that their stance was a face-off.
We’re dealing with something deeper.
A fear, an insecurity, an ambition… and the likes

We don’t have to agree but they have to know that we are present with them.

That we are negotiating in their world, not ours.

In their world, we can access their emotions
We can address their fears and insecurities
We can plant our idea