Communication Techniques

Navigating Friendships Using Tactical Empathy

A friend hasn’t reached out to you in a while.

Communication Techniques

Using the Quick 2+1™ in Your Personal Life

When you’re in a conversation and someone wants or needs something, you’re in the middle of a negotiation—even when you’re talking to a family member...

Communication Techniques

How to Use Negotiation Skills to Earn a Free Suitcase

Recently, I helped one of my colleagues “earn” a free suitcase by using Black Swan skills. She was staying at a hotel in Detroit for a work...

Communication Techniques

Overcome Weaknesses as a Negotiator: Assertive Personality

Whenever you find yourself at an impasse in a negotiation, you need to know how you got there. We need to admit that the approach we use to get...

Communication Techniques

Does Eye Contact Help or Hurt a Negotiation?

Eye contact can make or break a negotiation. Too much eye contact can make your counterpart very uncomfortable. If you are engaged in a conversation...

Communication Techniques

Why Explaining Too Early Is Hurting Your Closing Rate

As Ronald Reagan once said: If you’re explaining, you’re losing. So if you’re constantly explaining at the negotiation table, your closing rate will...

Communication Techniques

3 Communication Skills to Close Deals Faster

The Black Swan Group has a saying: It’s not a sin to not get the deal, but it is a sin to take a long time to not get the deal. Next time you find...

Communication Techniques

5 Ways to Control Your Emotions During Negotiations

Even the most talented negotiators struggle with their emotions from time to time. At the end of the day, emotions are one thing we can’t fully...

Communication Techniques

Communications Skills: Handling Objections

The best negotiators in the world are great at handling objections. When you find yourself operating in the world of high-stakes negotiations, it’s...

Communication Techniques

Navigating Language Barriers in International Negotiations

As we continue coaching clients all around the world, there’s a tendency we see over and over again in which folks think that certain negotiation...

Communication Techniques

Why Is Listening the Key to Active Communication?

Every person on this planet—regardless of where they hail from or their culture, ethnicity, or gender—wants someone else to understand their...

Communication Techniques

Communication Skills: 3 Ways To Make “No” Work For You

Does yes really always mean yes? Absolutely not. When we say yes, we’re committing to something. And immediately after we’ve committed, we begin...