Month 5 - Negotiation and Deal Making

For Negotiation and Deal Making, we were challenged with going out into the world and finding a negotiation to have with someone. I was working on a music video at the time and had the opportunity to negotiate prices with taxi cab drivers so we could include them within the video. In the end I had to convince my director against using a cab because of the price they were considering charging.

I learnt that solid research could be used to distract almost as effectively as it can be used to empirically support. That with the little time I had been given to prepare, a phone call was far faster and more effective than time spent searching the Internet. A tactic I will bring with me from this negotiation is to plant seeds of doubt within the mind of your opponent. Hit them with small problems that irk away at the gloss of their ideal situation. Then when you propose your alternative it can seem far more attractive despite not being entirely what they wanted. Provide them with small cracks in their dreams and you are more likely to smash it. Overall I felt very accomplished after this experience and definitely have another tool to add to my negotiating utility belt.