Do You Escape Easy Problems by Being Provocative?

• October 15, 2018

“Never run from a temporary problem and allow it to become a permanent solution.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

When you’re confronted by problems, how do you handle them? Do you choose to be provocative, running the risk of irritating yourself and others, or do you seek ways to finesse them? The way you address problems dictate the amount of life you give them. In some situations, what you perceive as a problem is an opportunity for greater gains.

Perception of Problems:

When challenged by trying situations, consider both the up and downside of the potential outcome. Then, assign a probability to the outcome. That process will allow you to better address the situation’s occurrence along with the degree of severity that it may possess. Never dismiss a problem out of hand simply due to the classification you assign it. When a problem contains an easy solution and it’s one that will add value to you, address it and embrace the outcome of its gains.

Communication is Key:

When considering how you’ll address a problem, the way you think of it communicates its severity. That occurs to whom you speak about your perception and yourself. The latter is true because as you communicate with others, you’ve already consulted your own perception and then you update that assessment by further discussions. The other perspective to consider is, problems decrease in severity with the passage of time and further movement away from them.

Mental Attitude:

The attitude you possess when examining a problem determines its degree of perceived difficulty; that perception places a weight on your mind as you contemplate how you’ll address it.

A study in the Huffington Post in August 2015, indicated that 85% of the misfortunes we consider never occur. It further highlights that there are lessons we learn to our benefit in the remaining 15% of that equation. That means, we spend a lot of emotional capital worrying about difficulties that never materialize.

Your Persona:

Be cognizant of how you project your persona when mulling over the possibility of calamitous outcomes. If you project a situation as being dire to others and they think it’s easy, you’ll be displaying your fortitude to deal with such situations. That display may lead to you not receiving opportunities in the future for fear of how you might address them. If you remember that you’re always negotiating (i.e. what you do today impacts tomorrow’s opportunities), that should serve as a reminder to be watchful of how you project yourself.

As you can see, there’s a lot you can do to shape the appearance of problems and the way you engage them. If you want to be more successful when addressing situations that are challenging, embrace them with a mindset that they’ll be beneficial to you. Don’t think of any problem as being too large to overcome; that’ll hamper your mind when considering actions to address easy problems. Possessing a conqueror’s mindset will help you achieve more goals and positive outcomes … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations? 

People perceive problem solvers as being more influential in negotiations. Therefore, their thoughts and suggestions are more acceptable, too. To enhance your repute, be known as someone that deals with challenges by your positive demeanor. That, coupled with the implementation of what’s in this article should lead to better negotiation outcomes for you.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams

#Problems #Success #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #liars #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions