Understanding key negotiation terms is essential for anyone looking to navigate complex discussions and secure favorable outcomes. Whether you’re managing high-stakes business deals or smaller transactional negotiations, knowing the lingo helps you strategize effectively. Below is a comprehensive glossary that defines common negotiation terms and concepts used in business, communication, and legal contexts.
Acting as a Principal
A negotiator acting on their own behalf rather than representing another party or entity. This role entails making decisions based on personal or direct interests, without needing external approval.
Anchoring and Adjustment
A negotiation strategy where the first offer (the anchor) sets the reference point for all future concessions. Once the anchor is set, both parties adjust their offers and counteroffers around this starting figure.
Arbitrator
A neutral third party chosen by the negotiating parties to resolve a dispute. The arbitrator’s decision is often binding, and this method is frequently used when direct negotiations fail to reach a resolution.
Aspiration Point
The optimal outcome a negotiator hopes to achieve. It represents the negotiator’s ideal result in terms of goals and objectives.
BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement)
A negotiator’s fallback option if negotiations fail. It’s essential to know your BATNA to maintain a strong position and avoid settling for an unfavorable deal.
Bad Cop
Part of the Good Cop/Bad Cop tactic, where the “bad cop” exerts pressure to force concessions while the “good cop” is more cooperative.
Blind Spot
A missed opportunity or idea overlooked due to a lack of information, perspective, or understanding. In negotiation, blind spots can prevent parties from identifying mutually beneficial solutions.
Bluffing
A strategy in which one party exaggerates their position or willingness to walk away in order to gain concessions.
BPA (Best Possible Agreement)
The most favorable outcome that satisfies the interests of all parties involved in the negotiation, ideally creating the best value for everyone.
Brain Storming
The creative process of generating ideas to solve a negotiation challenge without evaluating the merit of those ideas during the initial stages.
Brinkmanship
A high-risk strategy where one party pushes negotiations to the edge of failure to force the other side to concede.
Buy-in
Securing the other party’s agreement, confidence, or support for a particular proposal or strategy during negotiations.
Capitulate
To surrender or yield to terms that were previously resisted during the negotiation process.
Cherry Picking
A tactic where one party selects only favorable parts of an offer while rejecting others. Words like “contingent on” are often used to prevent cherry-picking by ensuring all terms are considered as a package.
Compromise
A situation where both sides make concessions to reach an agreement, though neither side achieves everything they initially wanted.
Concession
A voluntary compromise made by one party to advance negotiations. Concessions are often expected but should be carefully managed to avoid unnecessary losses.
Consensus
An agreement reached when all parties align on a particular term or condition.
Counteroffer
A response to an initial offer, proposing different terms. It both rejects the original offer and signals a willingness to negotiate under new conditions.
Creative Concession
A concession with low cost to one party but high value to the other, used to build trust and move toward a value-based agreement.
Crunch
A response designed to press the other party to move off their current position without offering a direct counteroffer.
Deadlock
A situation where negotiations reach a standstill, with neither party willing to make further concessions.
Defensive Deception
A tactic where one party justifies deception based on their assumption that the other side is also being deceitful.
Direct Communication Style
A straightforward negotiation style where honesty and clarity take precedence over emotional or political sensitivities. Common in business settings in cultures such as the U.S. and Germany.
Distributive Negotiation
A win-lose approach where both parties compete to claim the most value from a fixed amount of resources, often focusing on price.
Escalation
A tactic where the stakes or intensity of a negotiation are deliberately increased, often by adding new demands or resources.
End-Run
A tactic where one party bypasses their direct counterpart to gain approval from a higher authority.
Expressive Communication Style
A negotiation style where emotion is openly expressed. In some cultures, this is seen as a sign of sincerity, while in others, it may be viewed as unprofessional.
Fait Accompli
A negotiation tactic where a decision is presented as final and non-negotiable, forcing the other party to accept the outcome.
Good Cop/Bad Cop
A negotiation tactic where one negotiator is tough and unyielding (bad cop), while the other is cooperative and reasonable (good cop), pushing the opposing party toward concessions.
Haggling
A form of distributive negotiation focused on negotiating back and forth, typically over price, until a mutually acceptable figure is reached.
Hidden Agenda
A goal or interest one party keeps concealed from the other party, often to gain an advantage.
Hot Buttons
Specific issues or topics known to provoke an emotional reaction from a negotiator, used strategically to influence the negotiation.
Hypothetical Question
A technique where negotiators pose imaginary situations to explore options and test boundaries without committing to specific terms.
Indirect Communication Style
A negotiation style where negative information or disagreement is conveyed indirectly to avoid confrontation. This style is typical in cultures that prioritize harmony, such as Japan and India.
Integrative Negotiation
A win-win negotiation approach that focuses on creating value for all parties by addressing shared interests and finding mutually beneficial solutions.
Interests
The underlying motivations or goals driving a negotiator’s position. Understanding interests is key to finding win-win solutions.
LAA (Least Acceptable Agreement)
The minimum terms a negotiator is willing to accept for an agreement to be viable. Anything below the LAA is unacceptable, triggering the use of a BATNA.
Legitimacy
The use of external standards or objective criteria to justify a position and make terms appear non-negotiable.
Logrolling
A tactic where negotiators trade concessions on different issues to create value. Each side gives up something of lesser importance to gain something of greater value to them.
Lose-Lose Negotiation
An outcome where both parties fail to maximize potential value, often due to poor communication or missed opportunities for collaboration.
Lose-Win Negotiation
A situation where one party loses out while the other benefits. This is typical in distributive negotiations where value is taken from one side to benefit the other.
Magical (or Mystical) Math
A tactic using complex or misleading financial information to justify an offer or proposal that would otherwise not be supported by logical analysis.
Majority Rule
A decision-making process in group negotiations where the outcome is determined by the majority’s preference.
Mediation
A process where a neutral third party (the mediator) helps conflicting parties reach a mutually acceptable solution. Unlike arbitration, the mediator does not impose a decision.
MDO (Most Desired Outcome)
The ideal result a negotiator aims to achieve, representing the best-case scenario.
Mirror
A communication technique where the negotiator repeats key phrases to build rapport and encourage the other party to elaborate.
Multiple Offers
A negotiation tactic where multiple proposals of equal value are presented to encourage discussion and prevent anchoring around a single offer.
Negotiation Coalition
A temporary alliance between two or more parties in a negotiation to increase their collective bargaining power. Coalitions are common in multi-party negotiations, especially when interests align.
Nibble
A tactic used at the end of negotiations to request small additional concessions, even after a main agreement has been reached. The goal is to extract minor benefits without derailing the deal.
No-oriented Questions
Questions designed to encourage a “no” answer, which can help a negotiator gauge the other party’s willingness to agree to terms without overwhelming them.
Non-verbal Cues
Body language, facial expressions, and gestures that convey information without words. These cues can reveal true feelings and intentions in negotiations.
Package
A set of terms or conditions presented as a whole in a negotiation. The entire package is often non-negotiable, preventing cherry-picking of favorable terms.
Paralanguage
Variations in speech—such as tone, pitch, and tempo—that convey additional meaning beyond the words spoken.
Principled Negotiation
An interest-based approach that focuses on finding mutually beneficial outcomes. This method emphasizes separating people from the problem, focusing on interests rather than positions, and using objective criteria.
Puppy Dog
A sales tactic where the buyer is allowed to try the product (or experience the service) before committing to purchase. The emotional attachment formed during the trial often leads to the buyer accepting the offer.
Purchase Order Financing
A type of financing where a business assigns purchase orders to a third party, who collects payments from the buyers and advances funds to the business.
Reciprocation Principle
The idea that if one party makes a concession or offers a favor, the other party feels compelled to reciprocate. This principle can drive negotiations toward cooperation and mutual gain.
Red Herring
A tactic used to divert attention from the real issue to something unrelated, allowing the diverting party to gain an advantage.
Relationship-oriented Culture
A culture that values relationships and group opinions over individual expertise. Negotiations in these cultures emphasize social skills, loyalty, and group consensus.
Reservation Price
The lowest price (for sellers) or highest price (for buyers) that a party is willing to accept before walking away from the negotiation. Knowing your reservation price helps ensure you don’t settle for unfavorable terms.
Reserved Communication Style
A communication style where emotions and strong opinions are withheld to maintain professionalism and avoid confrontation.
Risk-Averse
A negotiator who prefers certainty and minimizes exposure to risk, often accepting a smaller guaranteed benefit over a higher-risk opportunity.
Risk-Seeking
A negotiator willing to accept higher levels of uncertainty or risk in exchange for the potential of greater rewards.
Splitting the Difference
A negotiation tactic where both parties agree to meet halfway between their respective positions. While it can expedite agreements, this method may not always lead to the most favorable outcome for either side.
SWOT
An analysis framework used to assess Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, often applied in negotiation preparation to evaluate both sides.
Stakeholder
An individual or group with a vested interest in the outcome of a negotiation. Stakeholders are often not directly involved in negotiations but influence the decision-making process.
Stonewalling
A tactic where one party refuses to make concessions or consider new solutions, often to delay or derail negotiations.
Task-oriented Culture
A culture that values efficiency and getting tasks done over relationship-building. Negotiators from task-oriented cultures focus on results and timelines rather than emotional or personal connections.
Tactics
The specific strategies or actions negotiators use to gain an advantage. Tactics can range from psychological maneuvers, such as silence, to practical methods like setting deadlines or using objective standards.
Unanimity Rule
A rule often used in group negotiations where all parties must agree on a decision for it to be valid.
Walk-out
A negotiation tactic where one party leaves the negotiation table, either as a show of strength or because the discussions have reached an impasse.
Walk-Away Point
The worst acceptable terms a negotiator is willing to accept before ending negotiations and pursuing their BATNA. Knowing your walk-away point ensures that you don’t agree to a suboptimal deal.
Winner’s Curse
Occurs when a negotiator agrees to terms too quickly, often because they set their aspiration point too low. After the agreement, they realize they could have secured a better deal had they been more assertive.
Win-Lose Negotiation
A distributive negotiation where one party’s gain comes directly at the expense of the other party. The outcome is often competitive and leaves one side feeling disadvantaged.
Win-Win Negotiation
A negotiation outcome where both parties feel they have achieved a favorable result. This is typically the goal in integrative negotiations, where both sides work to satisfy each other’s interests.
ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement)
The range within which an agreement can be reached that satisfies both parties. It represents the overlap between each side’s reservation price and is critical for determining whether a deal is feasible.
Adrien-Joseph Le Clef 
