A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed.
A miser and a liar bargain quickly.
Buying is cheaper than asking.
Grant graciously what you cannot refuse safely and conciliate those you cannot conquer.
If you are planning on doing business with someone again, don't be too tough in the negotiations. If you're going to skin a cat, don't keep it as a house cat.
It is a trick among the dishonest to offer sacrifices that are not needed, or not possible, to avoid making those that are required.
Jaw-jaw is better than war-war.
Most people I ask little from. I try to give them much, and expect nothing in return and I do very well in the bargain.
My father said: ''You must never try to make all the money that's in a deal. Let the other fellow make some money too, because if you have a reputation for always making all the money, you won't have many deals.''
Negotiating in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree.
Negotiating means getting the best of your opponent.
Never forget the power of silence, that massively disconcerting pause which goes on and on and may at last induce an opponent to babble and backtrack nervously.
Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts.
Prepare by knowing your walk away [conditions] and by building the number of variables you can work with during the negotiation… you need to have a walk away… a combination of price, terms, and deliverables that represents the least you will accept. Without one, you have no negotiating road map.
The correct strategy for Americans negotiating with Japanese or other foreign clients is a Japanese strategy: ask questions. When you think you understand, ask more questions. Carefully feel for pressure points. If an impasse is reached, don't pressure. Suggest a recess or another meeting.
The fellow who says he'll meet you halfway usually thinks he's standing on the dividing line.
The go-between wears out a thousand sandals.
The lesson of all history warns us that we should negotiate only when our military superiority is so convincing that we can achieve our objective at the conference table, and deny the aggressor theirs.
The one sure way to conciliate a tiger is to allow oneself to be devoured.
We were not born to sue, but to command.