What Is Negotiation Power?
Negotiation power is perceived or real power which influences the outcome of negotiations. It is extremely rare for the power in negotiations to be one sided, or for the balance of power to remain consistent throughout negotiations. As people negotiate, power can shift from one side to the other in response to changing circumstances. Understanding how negotiation power works and how it can be manipulated is a critical part of negotiating successfully; numerous books and workshops cover this subject in exhaustive detail for people who negotiate professionally. In negotiations, both sides have something the other wants. For example, when people sit down to work out the details of a real estate deal, one side wants the real estate, and the other side wants the money. Thus, each side immediately has some negotiation power, through manipulating their control over the thing the other side wants. Likewise, when someone negotiates over salary, that person has skills a company wants, and the co
