Negotiation — Insights

How to negotiate your way through life

When it comes to negotiating your way to a better deal in life; The male species seem to be doing better. Men, by default, have an oversized ego, and the ego, in general, plays a significant part in the negotiation process. However, how a man approaches the entire negotiation process is different from that of the woman. A man treats the negotiation process as a battle, which must be won, for there is perhaps more at stake for him, a family for which he is the sole provider for or a mortgage on his favourite car, he does not want to lose. These are just a few common examples.
Our male counterpart steps into a negotiation process the same way he would to war, minus the beating on the chest and chanting, of course. He must defend his position, for he shall win the battle. At the same time, the ego might be in the way, so he parks his ego aside to concentrate on the objective.
So the man stays calm and rational as he bargains for his cause. He focuses on the core of the situation. What he came to war for in the first place; To bring about change for his improvement.
Negotiation is about the realisation of mutual interest, the content. However, it is also about creating a situation that enables both participants to win, even though not everyone can win equally. Ideally, all participants must come out of the negotiation process better than before. A participants advancement might benefit him more, according to his perception, than the other due to the initial starting point from which one was negotiating, i.e. the personal situation he was in. Finally, it comes to one’s expectation to gain the expected retention.

That is why it is essential for women to negotiate better about their situations, especially when it comes to their careers and finances. Women, while debating, usually get fixated on one thing and cannot dig their way out. They generally lack the ability to keep their head cool and be calm; they let their emotions carry them.
Although feelings drive humans, emotions are, in fact, necessary if combined with the correct language. Emotions are the backbone of our reasoning mechanism. They help structure our arguments and motives, i.e. build our case for something we desire or are passionate about having. The only downside of emotional reasoning is that it echoes through our system; Thus, emotions can derive negotiators from reaching an agreement when not controlled. During negotiations, parties most must strive to reach the shore.
In the end, men are better at controlling their emotions and separating the various issues. Hence, they can stay calm even in the most heated argument or during a negotiation process. In contrast to women who let their emotions get to them far too easy, thus how they lose face while trying to negotiate towards improvement. Females are intuitively inclined, and this ability should technically work to their advantage as it allows them to see the situation from different angles. In reality, however, their sense of quick, complex judgement is distorted.

Though, emotions are essential in formulating the correct arguments. It is more important to keep a clear head. And that is where women are burdened because they carry a lot of emotional luggage; hence, they are swiftly offended. The females’ perception of an interaction/situation/ negotiation depends on the weight of the emotional baggage in experiences she carries. Without generalisations, this prevents women from getting sudden insights and coming to fast constructive solutions within a negotiation.

This is in far contrast to the man who can tap into his emotions and switch them off again in a matter of seconds. Thus, allowing him to think clearly and not lose sight of the merits and thinking precise results generally in logical and satisfactory outcomes to all participating parties of the negotiation process.

We all seek solutions for the betterment of ourselves, the situations we are in and our finances. You get what you bargained for in life, and you better start negotiating towards a favourable position.