Negotiating with Nay-Sayers

It seems these days people are so pressured, so busy, and so over-regulated at work that it’s difficult to get their attention at all; let alone get them to do you a small service. Next time you find yourself dealing with a person who seems to be putting up more barriers than bridges, try this strategy. Before approaching them with your request have a fallback scaled-down plan B ready. If they decline your first request ask, “If you can’t do A then can you at least do B?” Immediately, the other person views you as being somewhat reasonable – after all you’ve ‘given-up’ your plan A. So, in the spirit of fairness the other person subconsciously feels that they need to give a little as well.