Originally Posted by
Tartiflette Fan
i have to ask if you have ever been involved in negotiations ? Having spent decades negotiating with major companies, I would say that asking for something ridiculous and impossible ( NATO retreats out of E Europe ) just makes you look like a fool and loses you all credibility before negotiations start. Under such circumstances i would refuse to participate on the basis that even talking about ridiculous demands gives them some credibility.
^ this. Negotiating is not a zero-sum game. The aim is to share information in order to reach a mutually-beneficial outcome. Very often, one party is able to concede something at low cost to themselves that is of greater value to their counterpart, and vice-versa, and one aim is to flush out these opportunities. We're not buying carpets in the Souk...