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Did you know that 55% of communication between people is in body language and eye contact? Yep — only 7% of communication is the words you use; 38% is your pitch, speed, volume and tone.

This underscores the importance of body language in negotiation — both in controlling your own and in understanding the other party’s.

Facial Expressions
“Reading facial expressions is a particularly useful skill for business executives because, so often in business settings, people don’t say what they really think,” wrote Meridith Levinson in an article for CIO magazine. According to Paul Ekman, author of Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life, facial expressions are hard to decipher because they are fleeting and people try to hide them, but they are the clearest indicator of what someone is feeling, as well.
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In the 1991 book Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Roger Fisher laid out nine negotiating principles that you should keep in mind as you build and grow your business.

1. Set the tone early.
You want to offset any bad rumors and be honest and truthful. This will set the negotiations up for long-term success.

2. Use “human factors” and be open about feelings and motives.
This is key to building trust.

3. Avoid presenting too many issues, highlight the strongest ones.
Keep focused on your primary goal.
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Ben Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the US, was full of sage advice, including his five tips for better bargaining. I believe that these would be helpful for you, so I share them here.

1. Be clear, in your own mind, about exactly what you’re after.
You need to have a goal in mind, or how are you going to achieve it?

2. Do your homework, so that you are fully prepared to discuss every aspect and respond to every question and comment.
When entering negotiations, you need to come from a place of confidence and strength. Doing your homework in advance is the best way to accomplish this.
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Before I really start talking about negotiation and how you can use this skill to best effect in your business, I thought I would spend a little time going over what negotiation is — and what it isn’t.

According to Wikipedia, “Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests.”

O.K. That’s a lot of big words, but what does it mean to YOU, the small business owner. Let me break it down.
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