Which type of negotiator are you?

This might seem like an odd question but derives from the fact that I have on many occasions seen my counterpart’s personality shift drastically from the initial contact and communication to once negotiations were under way. As if they felt they were not good enough as they were and had to take on new personality traits when negotiating. The most common one being taking on an overly aggressive approach to, I assume, ascertain themselves as a tough negotiator.

This way of thinking will almost certainly backfire. First of all, negotiating can be hard enough as it is, at the same time trying to play someone else just makes things even more difficult as you need to balance your new found acting career as well as reaching results in the negotiation. Second, you try to be someone you are not. Very few people are comfortable being in that state which means you will not perform at your best. During negotiations you want your brain to perform at its best, taking up capacity from it by your acting means less capacity and focus on the actual negotiations which potential will hamper your outcome.

Finally, I would argue most people will intuitively feel you are being fake which inevitably will mean that your counterpart will loose trust in you. Trust is key in becoming a good negotiator. So whether you are an introvert or extrovert, happy or grumpy make sure to negotiate as who you are, it will make things easier for you and increase your chances of a successful outcome of your negotiations.