(Continued from page 21) This depends very much on the circumstances and especially whom you are negotiating with. Some research has shown that the strong, confident and secure negotiator, faced with a person in a very weak position, will tend to be magnanimous and generous if approached in the right way.

On the other hand, the same research indicated that the less confident, more insecure negotiator, when faced with a person with a weak position, will tend to exploit that position to the fullest.

Therefore, throwing yourself on the mercy of the court can be effective in improving your final outcome, provided you do it with an individual who is going to be generous and not take undue advantage of the situation.

If you do decide to play from the weak position, it can have the advantage of cooling emotions. It’s very difficult for someone to yell at you as you are apologizing, acknowledging fault, and at the same time showing them, in some detail, how you fixed it, and why it won’t happen again.

On the other hand, denial, defensiveness and the like will sometimes simply pour fuel onto the other person’s anger and will end up being counterproductive.

A customized negotiation training program can make a real difference to your bottom line.