Responding to Manipulative Tactics in Negotiation

Negotiating with liars? Turn deception into leverage. Protect your deals, without losing your integrity. You will discover five actionable steps to neutralize lying in negotiation, preserve trust, and stay in control without compromising your values. After 30 years leading global negotiations, I have learned that negotiators who probe specifics and verify facts close 42% better deals than those who accept vague claims. Once, a potential client smiled smoothly and looked straight at me. He assured me that they had another very attractive offer. I felt a sharp sting of doubt. You have likely faced the same dilemma. Negotiators sometimes lie because they think deception gives them an edge. Lies unravel trust, sabotage relationships, and destroy deals. Here is how to outsmart liars without sinking into their swamp: 1️⃣ Pressure the proof: • Ask directly for evidence of their claims. Example: "𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳." • Confirm every significant statement via email to create a clear paper trail. 2️⃣ Ask better questions: • Get specific to make deception difficult. Example: Instead of "𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴?" ask "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦?" and "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥?" • Detailed questioning makes it harder for liars to keep their story straight. 3️⃣ Structure smart deals: • Use contingencies that test their claims. Example: "𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴" • Conditions expose deceit without direct confrontation. 4️⃣ Stay calm: • Keep your cool; a liar’s dishonesty is not a cue to retaliate in kind. • Use their deception to your advantage by maintaining professionalism and control. 5️⃣ Walk when trust dies: • Recognize when deception makes a deal toxic. • Protect your time, money, and reputation by leaving negotiations where trust is irreparably broken. Stay sharp, skeptical, but fair. Your reputation is your strongest asset. Once lost, it is painfully difficult to regain. In negotiation, the biggest threat is not their deception. It is your temptation to respond in kind. Protect integrity fiercely. How do you handle liars in negotiations? Share your tactics below. 🔖 Save this post. Next time deception stings, you will have strategies ready. ♻️ If this helped clarify your negotiation tactics, share it with your network. 

Deal or No Deal? Have you ever found yourself in a negotiation where the person you were negotiating with was the "good cop" and the "bad cop" was never directly involved in the conversations? I find this convenient trick to be one that many leaders use to avoid direct conflict in having the tough conversations around deal terms. It's so much easier to blame the CEO or the Board or the Owner who aren't ever in the room. But here’s the thing—if the decision-maker is never actually present, are you even negotiating with the right person? I’ve seen this tactic used time and time again to delay, deflect, or pressure the other party into accepting less favorable terms. It creates an artificial power dynamic where the “good cop” seems reasonable while the unseen “bad cop” remains an immovable force in the background. So how do you handle it? 1.  𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁. Politely ask, “What would it take to get the real decision-maker in the room?” If they keep dodging, you know where you stand. 2.  𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. If you’re negotiating with someone who doesn’t have full authority, clarify that your final concessions won’t be made until you’re speaking with the right person. 3.  𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆. If they’re playing the “bad cop is unavailable” game, take your time too. Don’t let them rush you into bad terms while they hide behind hierarchy. At the end of the day, real deals get done when both sides come to the table prepared to make real decisions. If you find yourself negotiating with someone who always needs to “check with someone else,” you might not have a real deal on the table—just a runaround. Deal or no deal? You decide. #scalingwellness