Page 21 - Becoming a Better Negotiator

principle. Position movement tied to a consistent explanation can be used to encourage movement from the other side but can also be a powerful tool for braking or slowing your concessions.
Consider Making Unilateral Concessions
This may seem counterintuitive to negotiators who rely upon the worn adage “do not bid against yourself” but making concessions that do not come with strings attached will position the negotiation as less adversarial. Good negotiators look for unilateral concessions that have more value to the other side than to the offeror. Caution is necessary here though to convey that the concession is an act of good will and not an indication of weakness. It is also counterproductive to inform the other side that the concession is not valuable to you.
Conceding such things as the location, the starting time, or whether the carrier must be physically present can set the tone with little or no cost to the party making the concession.
Explain your moves and to the extent possible tie concessions to an understandable rationale. Without this people tend to assign bad motives to actions by people with whom they are in conflict. Even without attribution of bad motives, it is difficult to argue principle for no further concessions if previous demands/offers were unprincipled.
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