You need to get them to go to bed; to finish their meal; to tidy their room; to get their shoes and coats on; the list goes on. They pick up on the fact that you need them to do it – always when you are under a time pressure, and that is when they decide to assert their power and not cooperate. That is when the battle ensues. You know it will end in tears – and the children might even cry too! Sound familiar?
Negotiating and arguing are different things. It’s also not the same as debating or selling. In all those other activities you are trying to change someone’s mind to some degree.
That is not the case with negotiation, and one of the first things that you need to get straight before you engage in a negotiation is what you are trying to influence the other party to do. You probably won’t get them to change their mind. But you need them to agree to something, and the easier you make this for them, the better.
