Q & A Table of Contents
Choosing Between Hard And Soft Tactics
From: Koderbik, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Question: I would really like to know about soft and hard tactics, which people can use in negotiating procedure, and I would really appreciate to know your opinion about the following.
- At what kind of situations it is preferable to use which tactic
- How you could give explanation on tactics
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of soft and hard tactics
Response: The first point to make is that one must always use hard
tactics on oneself. It is a negotiator’s obligation to focus on
his/her interests — or those of the people s/he represents — because
no one else is going to do so. So one ‘hard’ rule we recommend is
that a negotiator should never say or do anything that goes against
the interests s/he is supposed to pursue.
The real question is what one really means by ‘hard’ and ‘soft’
tactics. One analysis is that most people feel uncomfortable
interacting with someone who is being ‘hard’ on them. Since the
objective of negotiation is to arrive at an agreement each party will
willingly fulfill, while hard tactics may force a party to accept an
agreement during the bargaining process, afterwards the ‘forced’ party
may walk away feeling grumpy and saying that “I’ll never fulfill an
agreement that was forced upon me.”
‘Soft’ tactics don’t make a great deal more sense, particularly if one
views softness as taking a weak or subordinate approach. Giving
things away just to be a ‘nice guy’ may bring about an agreement and
possibly appear to improve the relationship, but in the long run this
does not yield positive lasting results. If you give things away, it
devalues them in the eyes of the recipient. If you allow soft tactics
to be perceived of as weakness, that can harm your future credibility.
The real answer is to use strategies that are based on wisdom, good
preparation, respect for other negotiators, and a strong commitment to
the interests that are important to you. This could seem hard
sometimes and soft in other cases. However, in all cases, you must be
wise. If other negotiators believe they can depend upon you for
wisdom, they will take you more seriously in current and future
negotiations.
You don’t have to be hard to be effective, and you don’t have to be
soft to have other negotiators ‘love’ you. If you make strategic and
tactical choices that reflect clear thinking and a desire to get
others to buy in to the agreement, you will gain respect and be a more
effective negotiator.
Good luck,
Steve
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