N is for Negotiation

N is for Negotiation

With all of the tense words with North Korea at the moment Negotiation has never been more crucial.

In our daily lives we are constantly negotiating in order to get through the day with a minimal of fuss and I tend to notice three types of people as a result.

The first are my kind of people, those who will often end up worse off after negotiations simply because we want to avoid trouble. This could be seen that it is simply a case that keeping strong relationships or getting through the day peacefully is more important than winning individual fights but sometimes I do wish I could be different as I often give up what I want simply for the sake of avoiding conflict.

The second types are the ones that I wish I was. They have the perfect balance of keeping the peace by being firm but fair, if they want something they will fight for it but are adaptable and listen to reason. Generally if you put forward a decent case as to why things should be different they will agree and negotiation has been successful.

The worst are the stubborn ones. Stubbornness is one of the few things that really makes my blood boil. I have found a lot recently when entering debates or arguments with people that there are groups of people who won't even pay attention to what it is you are putting forward. Usually (as has happened recently in an argument about Margaret Thatcher) they have already decided very strongly on a side and as soon as you put something that they interpet as being opposite to their position they will beat you down to a pulp, even if it is not directly in opposition. I struggle when faced with this because of my tendency to just want peace. My kind are just as bad as our polar opposites when it comes to negotiation.

DFTBA