Effective Negotiators Have a Good Alternative

If you have no alternative to this particular negotiated agreement, you are weakened and constrained. The effective negotiator understands this clearly and endeavours to have a good fallback position.

Fallback in this sense means the best alternative course of action open to you if this negotiation fails completely. It can make all the difference to where the power balance will settle. The stronger your option here, the less you will feel the need to make concessions. Equally, the more confidence you will have in making demands of the other side.

Where they have it, effective negotiators will make sure that their counterpart understands their strength. Where they don't have it, they will not give that fact away!