A study on negotiation found that a key difference between skilled negotiators and average negotiators was the time they spent searching for shared interests, asking questions of the other person, and forging common ground. The effective negotiators spent more time doing these things—thinking about ways the other person would truly benefit as opposed to just trying to drive a hard bargain out of pure self-interest.[6] Do the same. Start with a friendly gesture toward the other person—and genuinely mean it.
