Generally, a negotiation between parties who do not trust each other takes the path of a win,lose approach with no new value or options added to the conversations. On the surface being empowered with the authority to make offers and decisions on a wide range of variables and price points might seem to be a great benefit to your side of the negotiation. A lower level individual with a set of limits and expectations might be in a better position to explore a wide variety of options for the agreement.

A negotiator with a bottom line number has a much easier time resisting pressure and temptations in moments of feeling unempowered or less powerful than the counterpart. Generally, a thorough analysis of costs, margin requirements, and market conditions is not the means of determining a bottom line number. That you're basing your opinions and decisions much more on actual words and tone of voice than when you have the full set of communication components, verbal, visual, and vocal.

As a negotiator, your job is to identify opportunities to add value to the central issue through exploration of related options. Success should not only be measured by the monetary value of a win, infact, there are various ways of evaluating the outcome of a negotiated agreement. Thinking about your counterpart's emotional expression, pay attention to any differential you observe between what is being said, and how the person is behaving.