Never Settle: Persuasion and Negotiation Skills to Get What You Want

Qureshi, an organizational strategy consultant, and Richardson (Negotiation Analysis), a lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, offer a straightforward guide to applying persuasion skills to everyday life. Contending that life is a series of negotiations, whether it be dealing with an annoying neighbor or getting a promotion at work, they offer habit-building techniques designed to strengthen confidence and strategic thinking. Drawing on academic research and FBI tactics, they emphasize reciprocity, or how doing someone a favor can make them more inclined to repay the generosity down the line; the importance of understanding each party’s underlying motivations, including one’s own; and the necessity of saying “no” to some requests in order to say “yes” to what’s most important. Also included are exercises for improving negotiation skills, like practicing using acquaintances’ names in conversation to build connections, making a list of interests to home in on one’s desires, and asking about others’ interests to understand their needs. The advice is well organized and readily applicable, though promises of securing “exactly what you want” overstate what skill alone can accomplish in structurally uneven situations. Even so, the authors’ practical framing and concise presentation make the material easy to implement in professional and personal contexts. This will be a boon to readers seeking to sharpen their persuasive edge. (May)