Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

and counters that send most people into a cold sweat. If you
count yourself among that majority, regarding the inevitable
moment as nothing more than a necessary evil, there’s a
good chance you regularly get your clock cleaned by those
who have learned to embrace it.
No part of a negotiation induces more anxiety and
unfocused aggression than bargaining, which is why it’s the
part that is more often fumbled and mishandled than any
other. It’s simply not a comfortable dynamic for most
people. Even when we have the best-laid plans, a lot of us
wimp out when we get to the moment of exchanging prices.
In this chapter, I’m going to explain the tactics that make
up the bargaining process, and look at how psychological
dynamics determine which tactics should be used and how
they should be implemented.
Now, bargaining is not rocket science, but it’s not simple
intuition or mathematics, either. To bargain well, you need
to shed your assumptions about the haggling process and
learn to recognize the subtle psychological strategies that
play vital roles at the bargaining table. Skilled bargainers see
more than just opening offers, counteroffers, and closing
moves. They see the psychological currents that run below
the surface.
Once you’ve learned to identify these currents, you’ll be
able to “read” bargaining situations more accurately and
confidently answer the tactical questions that dog even the
best negotiators.
You’ll be ready for the “bare-knuckle bargaining.” And