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Law and Crime
Use This Trick to Become a Better Negotiator
Obtaining sensitive information is the key to successful negotiations.
Posted February 12, 2021
Obtaining as much information as possible is critical when negotiating, especially if the information is sensitive. Sensitive information is typically closely held in high stakes negotiations. Asking direct questions in an attempt to obtain sensitive information triggers red flags. People are reluctant to answer questions, particularly if the information sought after is confidential or proprietary. An alternative to direct questions is elicitation. Elicitation is a technique to obtain sensitive information without the target of the elicitation knowing they are revealing confidential information.
Elicitation works because elicitation techniques are based on behavioral characteristics that predispose people to reveal confidential information. One such predisposition is the need to correct others. The need to correct others is so strong people often feel compelled to offer sensitive information to prove they know more than the person they are talking to. Knowing more than another person knows is an ego enhancing experience, which few people can resist.
The Presumptive Statement
The presumptive statement is one of the easiest and most effective elicitation techniques. It works by taking advantage of the human psychological need to correct statements a person perceives to be wrong or to affirm statements that are right. The presumptive statement presents a fact that can be either right or wrong. If the presumptive turns out to be correct, the elicitation target will affirm the fact and often provide additional information. If the presumptive is incorrect, he or she will typically provide the correct answer, usually accompanied by a detailed explanation.
To illustrate how the presumptive statement is used to get truthful information, consider an example where a buyer heard that the company’s new supplier has problems with on-time deliveries due to production line failures. The buyer wants to know if the seller can provide on-time delivery. The buyer could ask the supplier a direct question, “Can you deliver our order on time?” Because the salesperson doesn’t want to lose the sale, he would likely answer, “Sure we can,” even if he knows there are delivery delays.
A better way to obtain the truth is through elicitation using the presumptive statement. The buyer could make a comment such as, “I heard your company’s solution for the production line delays is reducing your delivery times.” The buyer now waits for the salesperson to either confirm the information, deny the information, or discount the information. The advantage of this presumptive claim is that the salesperson might be more willing to respond because he thinks he is only confirming information the buyer already possesses. The salesperson will also be more likely to provide a truthful answer because, based on the buyer’s presumptive statement, he can’t be sure how much information the buyer possesses regarding production delays. In the process of confirming, denying, or discounting the presumptive claim, the salesperson is providing the buyer with more information about production delays than he or she would have learned by asking a direct question. Knowing about any possible delays in logistics places the negotiator in a more advantageous negotiating position.
Several years ago, my wife and I were looking for a house to buy. We talked to a few people in the area. They told us that the water table was high in some areas and, we should make sure the house we purchased was not in an area susceptible to flooding. After looking at several houses, we found one we both liked. We went downstairs to look at the basement. It had been newly remodeled, so we couldn’t see any water stains or other telltale signs of flooding. I knew I would have a better chance of getting to the truth using elicitation rather than directly asking the real estate agent if the home had a flooding problem. The conversation went something like this:
Me: My wife and I really like the large kitchen and all new appliances.
Real Estate Agent: It is a beautiful kitchen with lots of room to cook. You guys will really love the basement. It was recently remodeled. (We walked downstairs to the basement, and I stepped over to a nearby window.)
Me: I like the way the dirt is built up around the foundation of the house. (Dirt built up around the foundation of a house reduces the risk of flooding.)
Real Estate Agent: As you can see, the basement is well above the water table.
Me: Wow, they sure did a nice job fixing the flood damage. (Presumptive Statement)
Real Estate Agent: Yeah, the owner also installed a new sump pump. (The real estate agent unwittingly revealed the fact that the basement had, in fact, flooded and was remodeled. The word also means that in addition to remodeling the basement after a flooding event, the owner installed a sump pump to prevent future flooding.)
Knowing that the basement of the house floods put us in a better negotiating position. We could confidently ask for a substantial discount to remediate future flooding. We could also walk away from the sale and look for a house that does not flood. We chose to walk away from the sale. Obtaining the sensitive flooding information through elicitation saved my wife and me potentially countless hours of frustration and added expense to repair the basement, which has flooded at least once, would likely flood again. Using the presumptive elicitation technique made the discovery of sensitive information possible.
Elicitation is a powerful technique to reveal the truth. For more information about elicitation and additional elicitation techniques, refer to The Truth Detector: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide for Getting People to Reveal the Truth.
