Negotiating With Friends

When you negotiate with friends and loved ones, do you find the negotiation to be more difficult? Over the years, thousands of people have told me they consider themselves to be good negotiators, except when it comes to negotiating with someone they have strong emotional ties to. There are several phenomenons at work during these negotiations.

It’s more difficult to negotiate with people that you have strong emotional ties to for several reasons:

  1. They have better insight into your psychic makeup and thus possess a greater awareness of how to push your buttons.
  2. They can do things to you that others outside of your inner domain could never do (Read between the lines on this one).
  3. During negotiations with loved ones and friends, you will tend not to negotiate as stringently as you might with people that don’t fall into these categories.

So, how should you negotiate with those that are close to you and still maintain a civil relationship with them after the negotiation is over?

  1. As with all negotiations, state the purpose of the negotiation up front. Indicate what is inbound (things that can be discussed) and things that are out of bounds (things that cannot be discussed). Hold fast to not discussing things that are out of bounds and get your friend or loved one to buy in to the boundaries of the negotiation.
  2. State how you would like the relationship to be after the negotiation has concluded. Get them to buy in on this one, too.
  3. Set the ground rules for the discussion of the negotiation (If you wish to be in a more positive position don’t bring things into the current negotiation that occurred in the past).
  4. As the negotiation progresses, monitor the level of emotions that occur, yours and your friend or loved one, to make sure those emotions are not used as ploys of manipulation against you.
  5. As you acquiesce to the wishes of your friend or loved one, make sure they really want what they say they want. (You can get a good read on their desires by observing and interpreting their body language). Don’t allow them to use red herrings as a ploy to gain additional leverage over you (Note: Red herrings are items that appear to possess value by your negotiation partner, but more than not, they serve to distract attention from the real issue).
  6. Observe the emotional intent of your loved one or friend to determine their attempt to be manipulative. Observe their body language to peek into the mental state of mind they possess. If that state of mind indicates they are being genuine and sincere in the negotiation, pursue the negotiation down the path upon which you’re proceeding.
  7. Check to make sure your friend or loved one is satisfied with the outcome of the negotiation. Validate their acceptance by observing their body language. If their words and body language match, more than not, you’ve reached the end of a successful negotiation.

Finally, when all else fails, throw these tactics out the window and give your loved one or friend what they want. After all, if you can afford to, go ahead and give in, give up, and get what you want, if the cost is not too high. Don’t let the value of the relationship hang in the balance of the negotiation. If the relationship is worth you not winning the current negotiation, in order to win in another aspect of the relationship, you’ll still come out ahead… and everything will be right with the world.

  • When you negotiate, with loved ones and friends, set firm boundaries upon which the negotiation will be based. Try to maintain those boundaries throughout the negotiation.
  • Pay closer attention to the body language (nonverbal signals) coming from friends and loved ones when negotiating, even more so than you might when negotiating with people that don’t fall into these categories. You know the emotional makeup of your friends and loved ones. Use the insight you gain from observing their body language during the negotiation and you’ll gain greater leverage.
  • When all else fails, If you can afford to, let your loved one or friend have the perception of winning the negotiation. In the end, if the relationship becomes stronger, both of you are winners.

Leadership PPT – Boosting Basic Skills With a PowerPoint Presentation for Your Leadership Team

A PPT leadership training program is a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to train your leadership team. A fantastic way to do this is by using short 4-7 minute intense skills (modules). Management education is better with PowerPoint than movies. This is because PPT is the most effective means of having a dynamic and entertaining instructional format that doesn’t cost much, while providing 10X the amount of content. You can have intensive and useful leadership skills education that team will actually remember. A content packed presentation of this sort is a great way to help your company’s supervisors, especially improve their leadership skills. You will find a blog that discusses hundreds of issues associated with supervisor skills at

Using Your PPT Presentation to Build Confidence

Even though they have already demonstrated their competency to you as line workers or non-supervisory personnel, these selected employees may still need to hone their skills so they can become the best leaders possible. However, you need to find the best PowerPoint presentation to help them d it. This means having content that is easily absorbed, nothing long-winded, pleasing graphics, and practical knowledge that will leave an impact on your bottom line while helping develop your company staff.

When you train your staff, keep in mind 14 skills in particular. My research and practical experience has proven to me, at least, than the following competencies are what all supervisors or leadership staff should learn.

The PowerPoint presentation skills you should consider offering your leadership team include the following:

1. Observing performance

2. Documenting performance

3. Constructive confrontation

4. Evaluating performance

5. Resolving coworker conflicts

6. Giving feedback

7. Delegating and following up

8. Dispensing discipline

9. Inspiring and praising employees

10. Building your team

11. Communicating with upper management

12. Investigating complaints

13. Managing unfit for duty employees

14. Preventing violence

If you can’t gather all of your supervisors in one room to what a PowerPoint show, have no fear. For very little, you can convert a PPT into a movie. This software is called a PPT to Flash converter. They are very simple to use. With these “Flash movies”, you could install an online library that supervisors could visit 24 hours a day to acquire intense “how to” training and development.

So the recommendation is to teach with PPT, and to focus on the most important leadership skills with your power point program.

PowerPoint Leadership Training with 14 Skills Recommended

Supervisors must be able to be able to communicate with their employees every day. A 14 Vital Leadership Skills program that you make available to your staff offers the best approach for practically any situation that could arise on the job.

Supervisors who follow the guidelines laid out in each leadership PPT presentation topic will be able to handle conflict more efficiently, as well as discuss an employee’s performance in a calm and professional manner. It is an unfortunate reality that discipline is also sometimes required on the job, and a program that you create for your supervisors also instructs your leadership team in the best way to handle any delicate situation.

PowerPoint Leadership Training Improves Workplace Relationships

Employees need to feel like they can come to their supervisor with any complaints about the workplace or the way they are being treated without judgment. Supervisors also want to keep the situation from escalating into a court battle. Instruction on handling complaints is one key topic for example that should therefore be included in your online library or PPT presentation kit. Other skills to present in PPT include training in preventing violence in the workplace, inspiring, praising, resolving conflicts, communicating with upper management, investigating employee complaints against fellow workers, and many more.

The leadership PPT presentations included in 14 Vital Supervision Skills advise new supervisors of the best way to accomplish this, and it also encourages both public and private praise of the employee’s performance. This is a great way to boost morale and inspire your employees to continue to do the best work they can. Many other topics are also covered in 14 Vital Supervision Skills, and it is unlikely that you will find a course this complete anywhere else.

Looking For The Perfect Graduation Present? Try A Monogrammed Memory Chest

Graduation season is upon us and that means it’s time to start thinking about gifts. If cash is too impersonal for you and you want to give the graduate something that will last a lifetime, you can’t go wrong with a personalized memory chest that has been monogrammed with the graduate’s initials. These solid wood creations are the perfect way to celebrate all the hard work grads have put in and serve as a reminder of the accomplishments for the rest of their lives.

Commemorate A Milestone

Graduation is a special milestone in life. It represents the culmination of time and effort put in toward achieving our dreams. What better way to commemorate this milestone than with a personalized storage chest or keepsake box? Personalization options range from the simple to the complex and include:

Names or monograms
School names
Graduation date
A special poem or inspirational quote

Beyond simply including the recipient’s name on the box, consider including a special poem or inspirational quote on the underside of the box lid. Grads will appreciate being able to look at your words again and again when they need comfort or inspiration.

Looking Toward The Future

Graduation isn’t just a time to celebrate the past. It’s a time to look forward to the future, full of hopes, dreams and goals. The most thoughtful gifts encourage these dreams. Some gifts encourage in entirely practical ways. The gift of money for example, is often used to help new grads start the next chapter of their lives whether that is more schooling or a first job or a first apartment. While practical and helpful, cash just doesn’t have the emotional connection that so many gift-givers are looking to convey.

Another common graduation gift is a book. Books are typically thoughtfully picked out by the gift-giver to aid the graduate in the next chapter of his or her life. They last a long time and very often contain a special message written inside for the graduate; something that he or she can refer to as he or she progresses through life. Books are easily stored or transported, which is another reason they remain popular.

Personalized memory chests meet all of these parameters as well but take their usefulness and longevity a step further. Memory chests are a physical representation of hope for the future. They are long lasting and practical, conveying your expectation that the grad will have a long life, overflowing with treasures to be stored inside the box. If you choose a solid wood chest or keepsake box, if will last for generations. In some families where it is tradition for children to attend the same schools as their parents, a memory chest engraved with the school slogan or name that is passed down from generation to generation has even more meaning.

The fact that these storage boxes can hold items as small as rings to as large as varsity jackets or blankets emblazoned with the school mascot makes them one of the most versatile presents you could give a graduate. It is this versatility that makes memory chests the perfect gift to grow with the graduate. What better way to celebrate life’s next steps and look toward the future than with a gift that grows along with your grad?