Probably, everyone has come across a situation where, having reliably established facts and reinforced concrete arguments, we still cannot convince the interlocutor that we are right. Why it happens?
When people sit down at the negotiating table, they use logic to get the desired solution from their opponents. However, this approach is often doomed to failure, because new research shows that decision-making is based on emotion, not rational thinking.
Recently neuroscientist Antonio Damasio made a discovery. While studying patients with damaged parts of the brain responsible for emotions, Damasio discovered an important feature of these people - they lost the ability to make decisions. Even a simple choice baffled them - the patients could not decide what to eat for lunch: chicken or turkey. Since an infinite number of rational arguments can be made in favor of both dishes, patients were paralyzed by the need to choose. As it turned out, emotions are simply necessary for people to make decisions. Even when the choice is based on logical reasons, there are still feelings behind them.
Damasio's discovery is of great importance for negotiation theory. The participants in the dialogue, who build their strategy on the basis of logic, actually have weak positions, since they do not take into account the emotional view of the issue from the opponents. A good negotiator must read and predict the emotions of the interlocutor, and also understand that the other party is making decisions that match its desires.
To be successful in negotiations, you should not decide for other participants what is best for them. It is much more profitable to open up opportunities for opponents to satisfy their desires. In any case, their decisions will be based on emotions and (in a good sense of the word) self-interest.
If the negotiator finds a way to find out what are the reasons for the opponents' dissatisfaction or what their true desires are, he will be able to offer them the most effective solution. Partners and even foes will only agree with you when they feel that it really benefits them.