“The horror of that moment,” The King went on, “I’ll shall never, never forget!“
“You will, though,” the Queen said, “If you don’t make a memorandum of it.“
In the main, I’m not an advocate of written correspondence, Memorandums, or notes. All things considered, memo mania infects our society to such an extent that proliferating paperwork clogs organizational arteries. From my viewpoint, most written documents are either unnecessary or unintelligible. Besides, writing everything down in time consuming, and most of us find it difficult.
Recognizing the arduous and wearisome nature of writing, Stephen Leacock, a professional author, said, “Writing is not hard. Just get paper and pencil, sit down, and write it as it occurs to you. The writing is easy — it’s the occurring that’s hard.“
By and Large, a good general rule is to avoid formal written communication where possible. Admittedly, there are times when you must take pen in hand. On these occasions it is advisable to remember: Whatever you put down on paper should be written as if it will ultimately be read in a court of law.
Implicit in the phrase “General Rule” is that there’s an exception. Naturally, there is, in the case of memorandum of agreement. This is the document that you compose after the resolution of a conflict or dispute. It sets forth the commitments of each party that form the basis of the settlement.
After you’ve finished an important telephone transaction, carefully compose this written representation of the negotiated understanding. Inform the other person, while still on the phone, that you’re going to do so. You should write such a memorandum after any significant Face-to-Face agreement as well.
Experience has shown that a gentleman’s agreement can become very ungentlemanly. As Sam Goldwyn is purported to have said, “A verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.“
The memorandum of agreement is sometimes called a letter of intent or a memo of understanding. Whatever name is used, the purpose is the same to define the commitments of the parties involved. Typically, they are written in moth-eaten language as if the writer used a quill pen.
Some of these documents are so stilted and pompous that you might think the composer wears high-button shoes and celluloid collars. here’s the way they generally read: 
“Pursuant to our conversation on such-and-such a date, we have agreed to the following…“
“As per our telephone dialogue we have concluded that…“
“Acknowledging our phone conversation of…“
Actually, the format is usually not important. What is crucial is that you do the writing. Why should you undertake this burden? Because the advantages to you are enormous.What are the scribe’s benefits?

• You have the initiative, determining when the memo will be written, the form it will take, and when it will be dispatched. Nothing will happen until you make it happen!
• The agreement will be expressed in your terms. If there’s any question about interpretation, we always ask the person who composed the documents. For example, if a letter written by James Madison regarding school busting or abortion were discovered behind a desk drawer, these dilemmas could be resolved quickly. After all, who knows better than the author how the Constitution should be interpreted?

Let’s refocus from a phone transaction to a face-to-face transaction. I’m your adversary seated across from you at a rectangular conference table. The Negotiating sessions go on and on , day after day.
Am I taking notes? No. Like many top executives, I falsely think I have a photographic mind. Are you taking notes? You can bet your bottom dollar you are. Why are you taking notes? Because doing so may give you leverage and power with respect to me.
After the third day, I irritatedly ask you, during a break, “Why are you taking so many notes? You aren’t a court reporter! We’ve already covered those aspects of the proposed contract like a tent!“
You smile, shrug, and mumble something about not being able to remember anything without committing it to paper.
On the 5th day, my photographic mind isn’t as photographic as I thought. During another break, I pull you aside and ask, “Tell me — what did we say about those 3 new codicils to the contract? they aren’t quite we say about those 3 new codicils to the contract? They aren’t quite clear to me, especially since we added 2 other codicils on Tuesday. I’m afraid I’m getting them mixed up!“
You thumb through your notes while I impatiently tap my foot. “Here it is — the 3 new codicils were spelled out on Wednesday at 2:00 P.M.“
I study your scrawling. I frown at your hieroglyphics. “I can’t make heads or tails of your handwriting!“
In the manner of a fighter pilot recapping a combat mission, you reply, “The codicils were so-and-so, and so -and-so.“
I make a face, “All I see on that page is 2 dots, an asterisk, and a star!“
You give me your best choir-boy look. “That’s what those marks mean!“
Suddenly I regard you with awe. You now have considerable power. Who can better interpret the chicken scratches than the chicken that scratched them?  

So Readers, we will continue to discuss about it in our Next Part:
“Write the Memorandum of Agreement ( Part 2 )“
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Good Day Readers, Today we are going to discuss about the suggestions that we talked about in our Last Part.
So Let’s get started

Be the Caller, Not the Callee

Try to initiate the vast majority of your calls in potential adversary situations. If someone phones you and you aren’t prepared, say the equivalent of, “I’m sorry, but I have an Important meeting to attend. I’m already late. When time would it be convenient for me to call back?“
You see, the instant you say something like, “I have something else on my schedule — I’ll call you back!” you’re no longer the callee. When you prepare yourself and do call back, you’re the caller.
Plan and PrepareBefore you take action, think though the result you want and make sure that the phone call is the best way to get it. Decide whether you wish a no answer or a yes answer. Earlier, we indicated that it is easier to get a no than a yes via Telephone.
Someone once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” 
Always think in terms of the specific objective or goal that you want achieved by the phone call. As the Koran says, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.“
Admittedly, if you don’t know where you are going, you can never get lost. In the end, if you don’t know where you are going, when you get there, you don’t even know you’re there!
The point is, as the caller, plan and prepare to make what you want happen. Here are few tips for phone Negotiations:

• Prepare a checklist of points to be covered during the call.
• Don’t run the Negotiation or Transaction in your Mind.
• In an adversary encounter, attempt to anticipate the Tactics of the other party. It is truism that forewarned is forearmed.
• Try to have all the relevant facts at hand as you make the phone call.
• Not withstanding your preparation, you may be surprised by diversions or off-the-cut queries. Certainly, there is no indignity in admitting some lack of knowledge.
• Concentrate and avoid distractions. Give this phone call your undivided attention. Don’t be a contortionist ( This is the person undivided attention. Don’t be a contortionist. ( This is the person who, while speaking or listening, performs other functions, from housekeeping to chatting with others.)
• If facts and figures are involved, keep all reference material, plus an adding machine or pocket calculator, within arm’s reach.
• At the end, summarize what was agreed upon and define the responsibility for follow-up action.

A Graceful Exit

Always have a ready excuse to get off the phone if the discussion drifts in a direction detrimental to you. If a long-winded caller or Soviet slicker will not allow you to make a graceful exit, you can exercise the option of hanging up on yourself.
Please — I would never recommend that you hang up on another person. That would be discourteous and socially unacceptable. Hang up while you are talking.
How can you convincingly hang up on yourself? Very simple. Say the equivalent of, “Hey, I’m really glad you called. You know, I was just thinking about your yester — ” Click.
The other party will never assume that you hung up on yourself. He’ll think the telephone company goofed again!
What’s the upshot? The other party will call you back. When he does, you’ve just stepped out, if you’re at home (“I had to get something from the garage“). This gives you time in which to prepare yourself so you will not be at the mercy of an unexpected caller.

Discipline yourself to Listen Effective listening requires more than hearing the words transmitted. It demands that you find meaning and understanding in what is being said. After all, “meanings are not i words, but in people.“
Obviously, you can’t listen intelligently while you are talking, so be sensitive to your own “Listen-versus-talk-ratio.” Consider the use of the pregnant pause. This is a magical moment when you go mute.
As soon as there’s a prolonged silence on the line — especially during a long-distance call — the other party may talk compulsively, either out of nervousness or from a need to get his money’s worth.
Invariably, he will rephrase questions in a way that will give you valuable information

Well, Readers We will Discuss in detail about Our Last Suggestion in our Next Part.
“Write the Memorandum of Agreement“
Do not forget to Follow My Website for Details.

Dear Readers, We will continue Discussing where we lest our discussion in our Last Part.
So, Let’s get started:

• Advantage – Caller

Telephone calls are made for many reasons and sometimes for no reason at all. most experienced people recognize that the telephone can be used as a potential offensive or defensive weapon in the Negotiation arsenal.
Hence, an effective Negotiator does not “Take things as they Come,” but anticipates the effects of his action or inaction.
In any phone conversation, the person placing the call — the caller — is in a privileged position. The recipient of an unexpected incoming call — the callee — is handicapped.
To begin with, assume that we are involved in a lengthy and humdrum Negotiation. As far you are concerned the matter is on the back burner — in Limbo.
unexpectedly, I make an “Impromptu” Telephone call suggesting a Proposition that will settle things between us. It this an impulsive act on my part or a premeditated Tactic?
Chances are, this phone call was not made on the spur of the moment. Before making it, I weighed the available options: Face-to-Face Talk, Letter, Telegram, Use of a third-party Intermediary, Telephone, or inaction.Presumably, I selected the phone call, at this particular moment, because it best suits my objective. Of course, I have prepared extensively. I am in a quite place, free from distraction.
In front of me are 12 sharpened pencils and 6 blank pads of Paper. At my right is an adding machine or a calculator. Behind me is a computer affording instant access to data. I have an objective, a strategy, and tactics in mind.
Additionally, I have anticipated your possible objections and have the answers and facts to overcome them. Basically, I’m rarin’ to go!
 Now, let’s Look at your predicament. Surprised by this precipitous phone call, you are not prepared. You even have to struggle to find the phone under the mounds of paper on your desk.
Ready reference material is not within reach. As we talk you are distracted by people who approach with questions and by lights flashing on your phone receiver. Complicating matters further, you can’t find the secretary, you can’t find the file, and you can’t even find a pencil or pen.
Under these conditions, you are speaking with me at great risk. Because I am much better prepared, you defer to my arguments and computations. If I am an altruistic, benevolent, wonderful person, I’ll give you justice and mercy. If I’m a Soviet slicker, I’ll cream you.
Despite the problem and drawbacks I’ve detailed, you’re involved in a great many telephone Negotiations. And I’m not referring to nine-to-five work calls alone. Anyone who tries to arrange a group picnic, maintain a relationship with family or friends, deal with telephone solicitors, or make wedding plans knows what I’m referring to.
Infact, putting a wedding together is like plotting the D-Day invasion.
You Negotiate over the phone with a vast assortment of people, from total strangers to loved ones. Even if the Negotiating “Event” doesn’t occur on the phone ( and it frequently does), the process stage does. 
Phrasing it another way, you do you preliminary maneuvering via the phone, whether you clinch the deal on the phone or in person.
Since you do use the phone so much, you should make that electronic device work for you, not against you.

Well Readers, In Next part we will discuss the Suggestions that can be Effortlessly customized to help you achieve success.

“Negotiating Anything, Any Place : Telephone Negotiations and Memos of Agreement ( Part 3 )“

Do not forget to Follow my Website for future Updates.

Good Day Readers, Today we will start our Next Part which is “Negotiating Anything, Any Place : Telephone Negotiations and Memos of Agreement“.
The telephone is a vital verbal link in Modern Life. On a daily basis, you probably use a phone more often than you do a knife, fork, or spoon. A phone is attractively shaped. It’s smooth to the touch. It’s easy to pick up.
It Looks harmless? No. It can cause serious misunderstandings (“I had no Idea you meant that!“). it can be employed as an instrument of deception (“Your check is the mail“). And it is a powerful economic force — millions of dollars are gained or lost according to the degree of understanding with which it is used.
Above all, the telephone commands attention. When its persistent ringing occurs, there is always the instinctive thought, “Who wants me?” Even would-be suicides have been lured from high, narrow ledges by the compelling need to answer its call.
yet despite it’s significance, few people take the time to examine the unique role the telephone plays in Negotiations. Let us analyze this widespread activity.
Characteristics of Phone Negotiations:

• More Misunderstandings

Because visual feedback is lacking, it’s easier to be misunderstood on the phone than in person. Talking to someone on the phone, you can’t observe facial expressions and behavioral cues. the interpretation of voice tones is often faulty. 
Not Only can voice tones be “Misread,” but innuendos and hidden meanings can be conjured up where none exist — or missed where they do exist.

• Easier to say No

It’s effortless and uncomplicated to say no on the phone. Let’s assume I dial your number. I politely say, “I’d like you to do the following, if you don’t mind —“
You briskly reply, “I can’t. I’m awfully busy right now. Thanks for calling anyway.” Click. 
Because we aren’t face to face, you have no difficulty turning me down.
But if I see you in person, you can’t get rid of me that easily. I walk into your office and gasp, “Please — I’ve come a long way! Oh, what a trip!“
Standing there, perspiring profusely, tears in my eyes, I beseech your favor. It is Unlikely that you will deny me under these circumstances.
Feeling guilty that I traveled so far, you may worry about my physical and mental state. Naturally, you would like to resolve the matter without a fuss. All things considered, the odds are strong that you will go along with my request.
Any time an Idea, Proposal, or Request calls for a change in the current handling of affairs, it requires a personal oral presentation. Documents, Letters, and phone calls may precede or Follow such a meeting, but they are not persuasive in themselves.
The message is simple: If you are serious about getting something you want, present it yourself — in Person.

• Much Quicker

Telephone Negotiations are always shorter than Person-to-Person dealings. This is true because the length of a Face-to-Face meeting must justify the time, travel, and expense invested.
Consider a hypothetical situation in which your child is having some difficulty in school. Should you call the Teacher involved, the Phone conversation might last 5 – 10 minutes. However, if you took time from your busy schedule to go in person, the discussion could extend 30 minutes to an hour.

• More Competitive

Owing to the relative brevity of a Phone transaction, there’s often insufficient time to share information and experiences and to explore the satisfaction of Mutual Needs. This reality, combined with the Formal Nature of Phone Contacts, produces a climate in which competitive Win-Lose behavior Flourishes.
on the Phone, people tend to be impersonal and stick more to the point. Conversation is not spontaneous, and the governing rules and procedures are the focus of discussion. As a result, the side with the stronger case prevails.
Theoretically, if you are a competitive Negotiator with more Power, it would be to your advantage to resolve a dispute by Telephone. Insisting that the Negotiation be done this way is part of your strategy to win at my expense.
Not surprisingly, in this context, I desire an eyeball-to-eyeball meeting. then you will see me, not as a statistical exception to a general rule, but as a flesh-and-blood human being. 
When Negotiators see each other  and get involved in the normal exchange of greetings, nods, smiles, and head scratching, it dilutes Antagonism. 
Discussion is freer, and there’s less time pressure and a better opportunity for a mutually beneficial outcome.
Before going any further, let me briefly mention a frustrating and difficult Negotiation. As almost everyone knows, the Telephone company can be formidable adversary.
After receiving your monthly statement, you call the business office concerning an unusual charge of $72 for a call allegedly placed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from your phone. As an Orphan, Living Alone, without Friends, who never married and failed geography in Public school, you plead not Guilty.
Yet in trying to explain this injustice you are confronted with an immovable object in the form of a supervisor whose voice and self-confidence remind you of General Douglas MacArthur — in drag.
After countless telephone conversations, even the innocent among us are inclined to capitulate. In Large measure, the reason for the lack of Negotiation success in such a situation are the subject of this chapter: In essence, you are playing poker with a dealer named Lucky, who invested the game and is using his cards.

• Greater Risk

By its very nature, a negotiation via telephone is generally quicker and more competitive than a personal meeting. It follows that such a negotiation is likely to produce a winner and a loser.
Implicit in these observations is an axiom to remember: In any type of Negotiation, quick is always synonymous with risk.
Whether a conflict is resolved by phone or even in person, undue haste puts one party in potential jeopardy.
Who takes the risk in a quick settlement? The person who is less prepared and cannot determine equality. Let’s say that I cannot ascertain, based upon my data and observation, that your proposal is fair. Instead, I must rely totally upon your representation. 
If you are a sincere, honest, and straightforward person, I will benefit from my faith in your integrity. But what if your display of decency and façade of fairness are Illusory? What if underneath those reassuring words lurks a “Soviet-style slicker” ? In this case, I will be brutalized and humiliated.
Therefore, if you are less prepared, cannot verify the statements made, and have no basis to trust the other person from past dealings, the general rule is to wait it out. Jumping into a muddy puddle makers it muddier.
After it has had time to settle, you can see the bottom and know what you’re getting into. More often than not, success comes to the Negotiator with greater patience and staying Power.
So if it might be a one-tome Transaction and you cannot determine equity, slow things down and drag your feet. the best thing to do, when you do not know what to do, is to do nothing. It is only good sense to act when it is to your advantage and to avoid acting if acting would be solely to the advantage of you adversary.
Remember, power is never constant; the passage of time can cause your bargaining leverage to increase.
Sometimes a Negotiator will want to push for prompt action. Let’s assume that I am better prepared than you or can atleast ascertain, based upon my data and observation, that this agreement will meet my needs. 
I need not rely upon your representations or even your Integrity. Obviously, in this instance, I will “Go Quick” without incurring any unnecessary Risk.

So Readers, In next Part we will continue to discuss further about it.
“Advantage-Caller“
Do not Forget to Follow my Website for Future Updates.

Good Day Readers, Today we are going to continue talking about where had Left . Do check our Last Part to understand further.
So Let’s get started
So, As we said that each of us is trying to satisfy our needs, but those needs, like our fingerprints, are different.
Ironically as I try to get what I want, only a part of my satisfaction will be derived from acquiring the product, service, right, or thing — the what that I am bargaining for. To a much greater extent, my satisfaction will result from the process itself — the how of the bargaining encounter.
Remember the couple that purchased an antique clock and the way I secured a newspaper in the Miracle on 54th Street? In these episodes, the nature of the process was what fulfilled needs and determined satisfaction.
It is this individuality and the meeting of needs through the process itself that causes us all to do silly things. Have you ever observed people returning from a tropical winter vacation? Away for just 2 weeks, they stand in a customs line at a northern airport.
They are wearing Hawaiian shirts and muumuus, holding huge sombreros, or carrying stuffed alligators.
Whenever I see them, I start to smile. But then, I recollect and I myself am the owner of a Mexican Serape!
Do you know what a serape is? It’s a shawl, a poncho, a bright-colored woolen blanket that Mexicans wear slung over their shoulders. More than that, most serapes are sold for exorbitant prices to gringos who come down from the north.
Before I tell you about the circumstances of my purchase, let me furnish you with some insights into my background and needs. From the time I was a little boy, I can honestly say that I never wanted a serape.
I never coveted, craved, or desired a serape. In my wildest fantasy, I never saw myself with a serape.
I could have lived my entire life without a serape and looked back and said, “You know, it was a good life.“
That being the case, how did this need — a need that I never knew I had — develop and get satisfied?
Seven years ago, my wife and I went to Mexico city. We were walking about, when she suddenly tugged my elbow and said, “Hark! Yonder I see Lights!” ( She speaks that way, you know.)
I grunted, 
“Oh now — I’m not going over there. That’s the crass commercial section for tourists. I didn’t come all this way for that. I came here to pick up the flavor of a different culture — to encounter the unexpected — to get in touch with unspoiled humanity — to experience the authentic — to move through the streets with the ebb and flow. If you want to wallow in commercialism, go ahead. I’ll meet you back at the hotel.”   
My wife, unconvinced and Independent as always, waved goodbye and left. Moving through the streets with the ebb and flow, I noticed a genuine native some distance away. 
Approaching closer I saw that despite the heat, he was wearing a serape. Actually, he was wearing a lot of serapes and shouting, “Twelve hundred pesos!“
“Who can he be talking to?” I asked myself. “Surely to me! In the first place, how could he know that I’m a Tourist? In the second place, I could not be cueing him, even subliminally, that I want a serape!” 
As I mentioned earlier, I absolutely did not want a serape!
During my best to Ignore him, I picked up the pace somewhat. “Okay,” he said. “I go from 1000 pesos and give a bargain — 800 pesos.“
At this point I spoke to him directly for the first time. “My friend, I certainly respect your initiative, your diligence, and your persistence. However, I do not want a serape. I do not covet, crave, or desire this item. Would you kindly sell your product elsewhere?“
I’ve even spoke to him in his own language, “Do you understando?“
“Si,” he replied, indicating he understood perfectly.
Again, I strode away, only to hear his footsteps behind me. Still with me, as if we were attached by a chain, he said over and over, “Eight hundred pesos!“
Somewhat annoyed, I started to jog, but the serape seller matched me stride for stride. He was now down to 600 pesos. We had to stop at the corner for traffic, and he continued his one-way conversation, “Six hundred pesos! — 500 Pesos! — All right, all right, 400 Pesos!“
When the traffic passed, I dashed across the street hoping he would be deterred. Before I even turned around, I heard his lumbering footsteps and his voice, “Se`nor, 400 pesos!“By now I was hot, sweating, tired, and irritated with his tenacity. Somewhat breathless, I confronted him. Spitting the words through half-clenched teeth I said, “Dammit, I just told you, I don’t want a serape. Now stop following me!“
From my attitude and tone he seemed to get the message. “Okay, you win“, he responded. “For you only, 200 pesos.” “What did you say?” I called out, surprised by my own words. “200 pesos!“, he reiterated. “Let’s see one of those serapes!” Why did I ask to see the serape? Did I need a Serape? Did I want a Serape? Did I even like a serape? No, I don’t think so — but maybe I changed my mind.
Don’t forget that this native serape seller started at 1200 Pesos. He now wanted only 200 pesos. I didn’t even know what I was doing; yet somehow I had negotiated the price down 1000 Pesos. As we commenced our more formal Negotiations, I found out from this merchant that the cheapest anyone ever paid for a serape in the history of  Mexico city was a fellow from Winnipeg, Canada. He bought one for 175 pesos, but his mother and father were born in Guadalajara. Well, I got mine for 170 Pesos, giving me the new serape record for Mexico City that I would take back to America for the Bicentennial year!
It was a hot day, and I was Perspiring. Nevertheless, I was wearing my Serape and feeling Terrific. Adjusting it so it enhanced my body contours, modest as they are, I admired my reflected image in store fronts as I sauntered at the hotel. Entering our room where my wife was stretched out on a bed reading a magazine I exulted, “Hey, Look what I got!” “What did you get?” she replied.
“A beautiful Serape!“
“What did you pay for it?” she asked casually.
“Let me put it this way,” I said with confidence.
“ A Native Negotiator wanted 1200 Pesos, but the International Negotiator — who occasionally resides with you on weekends — bought it for 170 Pesos.“
She Grinned. “Gee, that’s Interesting, because I got an Identical one for 150 Pesos. It’s in the closet.“
After my face fell, I checked the closet, removed my Serape, and sat down to think about what had happened.
Why did I really buy Serape? Did I ever need a Serape? Did I ever want a Serape? Did I even like a Serape? No, I don’t think so.
But on the streets of Mexico City I encountered not a peddler, but an International Psychological Negotiating marketeer. This Individual constructed a process that met my particular needs. To be sure, he met needs that I didn’t even know I had.
Obviously, I am not only talking about my Serape, but somewhere in the back of a closer or high on a shelf, you may have acquired what I call a figurative serape. You know what I mean: The porcelain Canadian Mountie made in Hong Kong, the Puka shell beads hand gathered on the island of Maui, the genuine Zuni ring, the piece of Turquoise mined just west of Bisbee, the sparkling abalone shell, the Spanish doubloon washed ashore at Boca Raton, or the authentic Wells Fargo belt buckle.
To me, all these things are “Serapes” and almost everyone I know has one. Think about you serape acquisition. Was it the item itself or the process that met your needs?
Basically, my message is simple. You can get what you want if you recognize that each person is unique and needs can be reconciled. At the same time, never forget that most needs can be fulfilled by the way you act and behave.
Mutual satisfaction should be your goal and the means of achievement — collaborative Win-Win Negotiations.

Well, here we finish our chapter and start with our Next Part which is : 

“Negotiating Anything, Any Place : Telephone Negotiations and Memos of Agreement“
So, Readers Do not Forget to Follow my Website for Future Updates.