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
When you negotiate for yourself rather than for someone else, you act as a principal. You make decisions based on your own interests and steer the conversation with your judgment. This role demands full ownership of the choices and their outcomes.
Anchoring and Adjustment
A bold opening offer sets an anchor that guides the entire negotiation. Your initial number becomes the benchmark, and every subsequent offer or counteroffer is measured against it. This technique helps shape the final outcome in your favor.
Arbitrator
When discussions reach an impasse, a neutral third party steps in as an arbitrator. They listen to both sides and then make a decision that all parties agree to follow. This approach breaks deadlocks and gets negotiations moving again.
Aspiration Point
Your aspiration point is the ideal outcome you target during negotiations. It represents the best-case scenario you strive for and guides your strategy. Keeping your aspiration point clear ensures that you remain focused on achieving top results.
BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement)
A strong BATNA gives you the confidence to walk away if the deal doesn’t meet your minimum needs. Knowing your backup plan protects you from accepting unfavorable terms and strengthens your overall bargaining position.
Bad Cop
In the Good Cop/Bad Cop routine, the “bad cop” adopts a tough stance to pressure the other side into concessions. This role contrasts with the “good cop,” who later shows a friendlier approach, making the other party more inclined to yield.
Blind Spot
A blind spot is a detail or opportunity you miss because your view remains too narrow. Recognizing these gaps encourages you to broaden your perspective and uncover solutions that benefit both sides.
Bluffing
Bluffing involves overstating your position or pretending you’re ready to walk away to force concessions. Executed well, this tactic pressures the other side to move, though it requires precise timing to avoid backfiring.
BPA (Best Possible Agreement)
Your BPA is the best deal that meets the core interests of everyone involved. It represents the ideal outcome where both parties capture maximum value and feel they’ve achieved something significant.
Brain Storming
Brain storming gathers a flood of ideas without judgment. This creative process can spark fresh solutions and innovative approaches that break through negotiation deadlocks, helping both sides discover new opportunities.
Brinkmanship
Brinkmanship pushes negotiations close to collapse, testing the other side’s limits. This high-risk tactic forces concessions but demands a steady hand to avoid a total breakdown of discussions.
Buy-in
Securing buy-in means winning the other side’s genuine support for your proposal. When both parties feel committed to the outcome, the conversation flows more smoothly and paves the way for lasting agreements.
Capitulate
To capitulate means to finally yield after holding out for too long. Surrendering too soon can signal weakness, so it’s vital to hold firm until you can secure the best possible terms.
Cherry Picking
Cherry picking occurs when one side takes only the most attractive parts of an offer while dismissing the rest. To counter this, present your terms as a complete package so that every condition is evaluated together.
Compromise
Compromise requires both sides to give a little in order to meet in the middle. Although neither party may achieve all their initial goals, a fair compromise creates an outcome that everyone can accept and build upon.
Concession
A concession is a calculated offer made to move the negotiation forward. When you offer a concession, you trade something of lesser value for a gain that is more important to your overall objectives.
Consensus
Consensus emerges when all parties agree on a particular point. Achieving consensus indicates that everyone shares the same view, which makes it easier to implement the final agreement.
Counteroffer
A counteroffer responds to an initial proposal with modified terms. It signals that you are not ready to accept the first offer while showing that you remain open to finding common ground.
Creative Concession
A creative concession provides the other side with high value at little cost to you. This gesture builds trust and moves the discussion toward a mutually beneficial outcome without compromising your key interests.
Crunch
Crunch is a tactic that pressures the other side to reconsider their position without offering an immediate new number. This move forces a quick reassessment and can lead to a breakthrough in the negotiation.
Deadlock
Deadlock occurs when both sides refuse to budge, halting the conversation. When you encounter a deadlock, fresh ideas or additional data are needed to restart the discussion and move toward a resolution.
Defensive Deception
Defensive deception uses misleading information to level the playing field when you suspect the other side hides its true position. This tactic can neutralize their advantage, though it risks backfiring if uncovered.
Direct Communication Style
A direct communication style means stating your points clearly and openly. Speaking plainly helps prevent misunderstandings and builds trust, ensuring that everyone is on the same page during the negotiation.
Distributive Negotiation
Distributive negotiation is about claiming the maximum share of a fixed resource. In these competitive scenarios, each side battles to secure the best possible deal, often focusing primarily on price or similar metrics.
Escalation
Escalation raises the stakes by adding new demands or intensifying pressure. This tactic shifts the dynamics quickly, forcing the other side to adjust their strategy under increased tension.
End-Run
An end-run bypasses your immediate contact to seek approval from a higher authority. This maneuver disrupts the usual process and forces decision-makers to reconsider the terms on your side.
Expressive Communication Style
An expressive communication style involves showing your emotions openly during negotiations. When used appropriately, genuine expressions can build rapport and signal sincerity, though too much emotion may distract from the facts.
Fait Accompli
Presenting a fait accompli means declaring a decision as already final. This bold tactic pressures the other side to accept the outcome quickly, limiting further discussion.
Good Cop/Bad Cop
The Good Cop/Bad Cop strategy splits your negotiating team into two distinct roles. One member takes a tough, unyielding stance while the other shows understanding and flexibility, pushing the other side to concede through contrast.
Haggling
Haggling is the back-and-forth over details, usually focused on price. This iterative exchange continues until both parties agree on a number that feels acceptable.
Hidden Agenda
A hidden agenda involves keeping certain goals secret to gain a tactical edge. Concealing your true interests can sometimes provide leverage, though it may harm trust if discovered.
Hot Buttons
Hot buttons refer to topics that trigger strong emotional reactions. Recognizing these allows you to steer clear of unnecessary conflict or use them tactfully to guide the conversation in your favor.
Hypothetical Question
A hypothetical question poses an “if” scenario to explore possibilities without committing to a fixed position. This technique opens up new ideas and reveals the other side’s underlying interests without pressure.
Indirect Communication Style
An indirect communication style conveys disagreements or criticisms through subtle hints rather than blunt statements. This approach suits cultures that prize courtesy and helps avoid direct confrontation.
Integrative Negotiation
Integrative negotiation seeks a win–win outcome by addressing shared interests. Rather than dividing a fixed resource, both sides work together to expand the value available to everyone.
Interests
Interests are the true drivers behind each position—your underlying needs and desires. Revealing these can unlock opportunities for creative solutions that benefit all parties, instead of merely trading offers.
LAA (Least Acceptable Agreement)
Your LAA sets the minimum terms you will accept for a deal. This boundary ensures you never settle for less than what meets your critical requirements, guiding you when it’s time to walk away.
Legitimacy
Legitimacy builds your position on objective standards or external benchmarks. When your terms appear fair and well-supported, they become harder to dispute and more likely to gain acceptance.
Logrolling
Logrolling means exchanging concessions on issues of different importance. Each side trades something of lesser value for something more significant, helping both reach a better overall deal.
Lose-Lose Negotiation
A lose–lose outcome happens when both sides hold too rigidly to their positions and miss out on mutual gains. This situation leaves everyone with less than they could have achieved through flexible collaboration.
Lose-Win Negotiation
In a lose–win scenario, one side concedes more than is fair while the other reaps most of the benefits. This imbalance often occurs when one party underestimates their value or overplays their hand.
Magical (or Mystical) Math
Magical Math uses overly complex or deceptive calculations to justify an offer. This tactic creates an illusion of precision, distracting from the core issues, even though the numbers don’t fully add up.
Majority Rule
In group negotiations, majority rule means the final decision reflects the preference of most members. Even if some disagree, the outcome follows the collective choice, guiding the agreement.
Mediation
Mediation brings in a neutral third party to help resolve conflicts. The mediator facilitates a dialogue that helps both sides find common ground, steering the discussion toward a mutually acceptable solution without imposing a decision.
MDO (Most Desired Outcome)
Your MDO is the best-case scenario you aim to secure. This ideal outcome serves as a beacon, guiding your strategy and helping you stay focused on what you truly want from the negotiation
Mirror
Using the mirror technique, you repeat key phrases from your counterpart to build rapport and encourage them to clarify their thoughts. This simple strategy fosters a deeper connection and opens up the conversation.
Multiple Offers
Presenting multiple offers gives your counterpart several options instead of locking them into a single number. This variety sparks broader discussion and helps both sides explore creative solutions.
Negotiation Coalition
A negotiation coalition forms when two or more parties team up to strengthen their bargaining position. These temporary alliances allow groups to pool their resources and negotiate from a place of greater power.
Nibble
Nibbling means asking for small extras after the main deal is nearly finalized. This final tactic extracts additional value without risking the overall agreement, relying on careful timing and subtle persuasion.
No-oriented Questions
No-oriented questions prompt the other side to say “no” in a way that reveals their true boundaries. This counterintuitive approach gently probes their limits without forcing a premature “yes.”
Non-verbal Cues
Non-verbal cues—like gestures, facial expressions, and posture—often reveal more than words. Observing these signals gives you insight into your counterpart’s true feelings, allowing you to adjust your strategy in real time.
Package
When you present a package, you bundle all terms together instead of offering them one at a time. This forces your counterpart to consider the full deal as a single entity rather than picking and choosing favorable points.
Paralanguage
Paralanguage covers the nuances of how you speak—tone, pitch, and pace—that add meaning beyond your words. These subtle signals help convey emotion and intent, influencing how your message is received.
Principled Negotiation
Principled negotiation focuses on addressing the core interests of both sides rather than fighting over fixed positions. This method emphasizes fairness, creative problem-solving, and objective criteria, building long-term trust and win–win solutions.
Puppy Dog
The puppy dog tactic lets a buyer try out a product or service before making a full commitment. This trial period builds an emotional connection and often tips the scales in favor of closing the deal once the benefits are experienced firsthand.
Purchase Order Financing
Purchase order financing provides funds by assigning purchase orders to a third party. That party collects payments and advances money to keep your operations running smoothly, ensuring consistent cash flow during critical negotiations.
Reciprocation Principle
The reciprocation principle rests on the idea that when you offer something—a concession, a favor—the other side feels compelled to return it. This mutual exchange builds a cooperative spirit that can drive the negotiation toward a balanced outcome.
Red Herring
A red herring is a distraction introduced to steer the other side away from the main issue. This tactic can misdirect focus, giving you an opportunity to emphasize what truly matters.
Relationship-oriented Culture
In a relationship-oriented culture, personal bonds and group harmony hold significant weight. Negotiations in these environments focus on trust and long-term connections, with decisions influenced by loyalty and mutual respect.
Reservation Price
Your reservation price sets the limit for what you will accept, whether as a seller or a buyer. Knowing this threshold helps you avoid agreeing to a deal that doesn’t meet your minimum requirements, keeping you in control of the negotiation.
Reserved Communication Style
A reserved communication style means keeping your emotions and strong opinions in check to maintain professionalism. This calm and measured approach ensures that the focus remains on the facts and the issues at hand.
Risk-Averse
A risk-averse negotiator favors certainty over the possibility of a higher, but less guaranteed, reward. This approach leans toward secure, predictable gains, ensuring that every agreement meets a minimum standard of safety.
Risk-Seeking
A risk-seeking negotiator welcomes uncertainty if it offers the potential for larger rewards. This bold approach involves taking calculated chances, even when the outcome remains unpredictable.
Splitting the Difference
Splitting the difference means both sides agree to meet halfway between their positions. While this tactic can quickly break a deadlock, it sometimes leads to less-than-optimal outcomes if both parties settle too easily.
SWOT
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This framework lets you assess your position alongside that of your counterpart, providing a solid basis for a strategic, well-informed discussion.
Stakeholder
A stakeholder is anyone with a vested interest in the outcome of a negotiation. Their influence, though sometimes indirect, can shape decisions and steer the overall direction of the discussion.
Stonewalling
Stonewalling happens when one side refuses to budge or consider new ideas. This tactic stalls progress and forces the other side to seek creative ways to break through the impasse.
Task-oriented Culture
In a task-oriented culture, the focus remains on achieving clear results and meeting deadlines. Negotiators from such environments concentrate on practical outcomes, emphasizing efficiency and measurable goals over personal rapport.
Tactics
Tactics are the specific moves you use to gain an edge in a negotiation. They can range from strategic pauses and silent moments to setting firm deadlines. Each tactic plays a key role in building your overall approach.
Unanimity Rule
The unanimity rule requires that every member of a group agree on a decision before it stands. Even if a few disagree, the final outcome reflects the majority’s view, ensuring that the agreement has broad support.
Walk-out
A walk-out is a dramatic move where you leave the table to signal that the current terms are unacceptable. This bold step forces your counterpart to rethink their position, though it risks ending the conversation if overused.
Walk-Away Point
Your walk-away point defines the worst terms you’re willing to accept. Knowing this boundary ensures that you never agree to a deal below your essential requirements, keeping you in control throughout the negotiation.
Winner’s Curse
The winner’s curse occurs when you settle too quickly or set your goals too low, later realizing that you could have negotiated a better deal. It serves as a reminder to push for maximum value and never settle for less than you deserve.
Win-Lose Negotiation
In a win-lose negotiation, one side gains at the expense of the other. This zero-sum approach often leaves the losing side feeling shortchanged, as every benefit for one party directly harms the other.
Win-Win Negotiation
A win-win negotiation produces an outcome where both sides feel they have achieved something positive. In these discussions, each party works together to address key interests, creating a deal that benefits everyone involved.
ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement)
The ZOPA represents the overlap between your acceptable terms and those of your counterpart. This zone is where a mutually beneficial deal becomes possible, serving as the target for your negotiation efforts.
Adrien-Joseph Le Clef 
