Step Back and Look at the Big Picture in Negotiations

After you have been negotiating for a long time, it can get frustrating and tiring when the negotiations go on and on and nothing seems to be happening or get resolved. Sometimes the negotiations even start to unravel. It may be time to step back and look at the big picture. This may even help resolve the dispute.

During negotiations, we are basically looking at the small picture. Generally we are dealing with facts and details that are important to the parties, but are not earth-shattering to anyone else. Sometimes the parties can get really wrapped up in the minutiae of whether the negotiations will be resolved and have a lot of frustration and anger when it does not. It can help to stop looking at the small picture and start looking at the big picture.

When weighed against world peace or other world events, the success of the negotiation can suddenly lose its importance. Looking through the Hubble Telescope can give one some perspective on an issue that is insignificant compared to the galaxies out there. As a result, you may take yourself a lot less seriously.

Putting the dispute in perspective can allow you to give a deadline for the case to be resolved. For example, you could give the other side one more chance at the bargaining table and decide in advance that if that deadline is not met, that it is time to throw in the towel and close the negotiations. After looking at the big picture, It is not the end of the world and life goes on.




Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author ofHow To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Winner of six book awardsBest How To Book, DIY FestivalRunner Up, New York Book Festival, E-Book and Self-Help CategoryFinalist ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year AwardsFinalist, Best National Book Awards, Self-Help CategoryHonorable Mention, London Book FestivalHow To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating DisputesWinner of five book awardsBest National Book AWard, Law CategoryBest E-Book, New York Book FestivalBest How To Book, Beach Book FestivalBest E-Book, Indie Excellence AwardsSpirit AWard, South Florida Writers AssociationEmail: howtonegotiate@aol.comwww.marygreenwood.com