6 Surprising Signs Your Deal is Going to Fail Miserably
We don’t teach backup plans at The Black Swan Group—we teach pre-emptive plans so that a backup plan is never needed. Our philosophy is that you...
The Most Basic Negotiation Skill Anyone Can Use
The most basic negotiation skill anyone can start using is simple—listening. Becoming a better listener will help you with the rest of the...
3 Icebreakers to Help You Actually Start Practicing Negotiation
We all want to get good at a skill. Unfortunately, most of us get stuck in the “reading about it” phase. We read a dozen self-help, personal...
Why a Lack of Self-Confidence Can Harm a Negotiation
According to the dictionary, self-confidence is “confidence in oneself and in one’s powers and abilities.” But in negotiation, self-confidence is...
What You Need to Know About Tactical Empathy®
Tactical Empathy® is all about understanding the other side. It doesn’t mean you feel how they feel—just that you can gain valuable information so...
Negotiation Training: The Top 4 ‘No-Oriented’ Questions
Yes doesn’t always mean yes. This is why shrewd negotiators don’t aim for yes, but instead try to get their counterparts to say no. In this...
Our 10 Most Popular Negotiation Terms That You Need to Know
If you have read our content over the years, you have likely seen the same negotiation terms discussed again and again.
How Using Labels™ Can Help You Close More Deals
A Label™ is a negotiation skill that enables us to bring thoughts and sentiments left unsaid by our counterpart to the surface.
10 Rules You Need to Break Right Now
1. Ask good questions – False You need to gather information–yet people hate being interrogated. Questions create friction, diminish rapport, and...
Women and Tone
In the workplace, a woman’s tone of voice has a profound impact on how she’s perceived. If a woman should ever be wrongly thought of as whiny or...
3 Signs It’s Time to Cut Your Losses and Move on to the Next Deal
According to Black Swan CEO and founder Chris Voss, it’s not a sin to not get a deal. However, it is a sin to take a long time to not get a deal.
Why You Need to Use No-Oriented Questions™ in a Negotiation
The goal of using No-Oriented Questions™ is to transition out of eliciting a yes response from your counterpart and try to get them to agree by...