Negotiations or Lying?

At some point we are going to enter into negotiations with someone else for some sort of purpose. Be that buying a car, a house, or even simply negotiating how to spend an evening with loved ones. Bill wants to watch a movie but Jill thinks Monopoly is tops and wants to do that instead, so they negotiate and decide to have a movie night a week and a game night a week. Much of life is a negotiation in that regard. 

However, many forms of negotiation can have serious consequences though even Jill may eventually leave the relationship if her desires are not respected. In the professional world negotiations can have serious effects and spotting disinformation or lies can be tricky. 

One of the main ways I sort information is by doing a fair bit of research ahead of time. I don't ask a question of a car salesman unless I already have the answer from several other sources. I want to evaluate his honesty. Additionally, I have a frame of reference regarding what a car is worth or what options it has. I also know ahead of time what practices a dealership may use to add fees or needless financing options. Research is invaluable in negotiations. From the sellers perspective, researching the buyers needs can also go a long way towards fruitful negotiations. 

I also evaluate the reputation of the other party. There are those that I work with as clients that are dishonest more than they are honest. Believe it or not, patients lie. They are also often poor historians of their own conditions. That being said, other patients have better track records of being honest. If a patient admits to drinking or using drugs it makes going forward with treatment planning much easier. This is the same for the other programs in which I interact, every program has its own needs which brings us to the third point.

Understand the other party's motivation. If you can figure out what they need you can tailor negotiations to meet those needs. In many cases other departments in my organization are short staffed so I am able to provide work-therapy options to patients in recovery by placing them in those departments to gain work experience. Where this gets complicated is when I sign contracts with agencies in the community and not in my organization. These contracts detail how a patient will work in the organization and how the organization will be billed for the services we provide. The outside agency gains inexpensive labor as we pay all the insurance but they are expected to train the worker and they will be billed. Additionally, our patients often have impairments so an agency may balk at the idea of training someone in recovery. 

These negotiations mean that I sometimes have to find a way to place the patient in the best light and gloss over some of their deficiencies. It is a fine line as I have a reputation to protect and if I consistently provide workers that steal from the employers, as has happened, I will find myself without placements for the patients. At the same time, the patients deserve the best chance to recover that I can provide even if they are they often their own worst enemies. 

Understanding how the other party thinks is also very helpful. I'm lucky in that regard as professionally we have a great deal of training in understanding how to read people. This allows me to, as the song says, "know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em." When you can develop an idea of how the other party thinks you can begin to see where they are deceptive and when they aren't. This isn't foolproof of course and as is less useful than what I have mentioned above but getting into someone's head allows to tailor a negotiation. Personally, I rely more on research than I do anything else but it never hurts to know your audience.