The Black Swan Group often recommends using Labels™ to describe emotions that are displayed, verbalized, or implied but not directly articulated. In this negotiation skills training post, we will explore Mislabels—the Label’s counterpart.
Read More >Milton “Troy” Smith

Recent Posts
Black Swan Negotiation Skills Training: Mislabels
Negotiation Tips Post-Mortem: How to Identify Your Missteps
Here’s a negotiation tip: The world’s most effective negotiators understand that they can always sharpen their skills and improve, regardless of the outcome of their last engagement.
Read More >How Social and Emotional Intelligence Leads to Strong Negotiation Skills
The best negotiators are all focused on the same thing: using Tactical Empathy™ to understand what is making their counterpart tick and influencing their decision-making.
To get there, it’s critical to sharpen your social and emotional intelligence skills.
After all, you always want to be in a position where you can tell your counterpart that you understand exactly what they’re thinking. Ideally, you should be able to vocalize their thoughts from their perspective so perfectly that they have no choice but to respond with the two magic words: that’s right.
Once you’ve reached that point, the deal closes itself.
Read More >4 Ways Active Communication Can Lead to More Deals
Many humans have a hard time communicating clearly with other people. More often than not, we beat around the bush and talk in roundabout ways instead of being upfront, open, and honest. In many cases, understanding what someone is saying can feel like pulling teeth.
The good news is that by making it a habit to use active communication, you can increase the likelihood you are easily understood, leading to more deals. Here’s how to do that:
Read More >Sales Negotiation Strategies for Nonconfrontational Individuals
Every now and again, the best negotiators find themselves sitting across the table from someone who is nonconfrontational.
Because we are all so accustomed to dealing with counterparts who love to battle, it’s always worth revisiting the most effective ways to deal with nonconfrontational people.
Read More >How to Approach Difficult Conversations with Co-workers
Though I’ve retired from active duty, I’m still a reserve deputy in my local county. Recently, a new assistant chief came into the department and wanted to show the rest of the crew that he had power. So he met with the reserves and talked about 10 different projects he wanted to get off the ground.
Read More >Price Negotiation: How to Get the Best Deal Every Time
Whether someone is buying a new car or making a multi-million dollar business deal, who wants to pay a single penny more than they absolutely need to?
Using The Black Swan Method™ to guide your price negotiation strategy, it is possible to get the best deal every time.
Read More >How to Separate Needs vs. Wants in a Negotiation
In every negotiation, each side has things they need to have and things they want to have.
Read More >The Most Underutilized Negotiation Skill
The first time I ever handled a hostage negotiation, the whole thing was over in five minutes. I thought that negotiation was easy and that I was a natural.
Read More >SUBSCRIBE TO WEEKLY UPDATES
POSTS BY TOPIC
- How to Negotiate (87)
- Negotiation Tactics (62)
- Preparing to Negotiate (52)
- Communication Techniques (33)
- Negotiation Training (32)
- Leadership Skills (29)
- Improving Sales (20)
- Crisis Negotiation (18)
- Negotiation Mistakes (13)
- Real Estate Negotiation (10)
- Salary Negotiation (10)
- Email Negotiation (7)
- Women Specific Negotiation Skills (7)
- Negotiation Technique (5)
- Negotiation and Personal Relationships (5)
- Positive Leadership (4)
- sales negotiation strategies (3)
- Infographic (2)
- Sales Expert (2)
- emotional intelligence (2)
- Accusation Audit (1)
- Communication Skills (1)
- Leadership Communication (1)
- Management (1)
- Master Negotiation (1)
- Sales Negotiation (1)
- Workplace Communication (1)
- active communication (1)
- active listening (1)
- assertive negotiator (1)
- emotional heath (1)
- negotiation roles and responsibilities (1)
- negotiation skills (1)
- social intelligence (1)
- tactical empathy (1)