Beware of last-minute strong-arm tactics.

E ven if you make the decision to treat your negotiating opponent with honesty and kindness, the other party may not extend you the same respect. Be prepared to stand your ground firmly, yet cordially, especially in the last few minutes of the negotiations. This is the time when manipulative parties may employ certain tactics in order to try to fool you into losing focus or lowering goals and standards. Remember that conflicts are generally resolved in the last few minutes. The theory behind last minute tactics is that one party may be more willing to give in out of fear that all of the concessions or progress made up to that point (perhaps hours or weeks of talks) might be lost. People also get tired or have other commitments that need to be met, such as making an important phone call before another business closes, or picking up children from school. Here are some last minutes tricks that negotiators often use at this time:

• Walking out of the room

• Offering a short-term bribe

• Telling you to take it or leave it

• Giving an ultimatum

• Abrupt change in tone (used to shock the other party into submission)

• Introducing new requests (used at to get you to concede with little thought or consideration)

• Stating generalizations without evidence (dropped without significant statistics/proof)

• Adopting the Mr. Nice Guy persona (used to try to make it look like they are doing you a favour in hopes that you will lower your expectations)