How to Get What You Want: Without Having to Ask (Frank Feng's Library) by Richard Templar Page B

you can actually prepare for this, too, by rehearsing the counter-arguments you’ve prepared to their objections, until you’re as solid on those as you are on your initial request. By the time you’ve thought through all the options, you’ll find you’ve rehearsed their lines for them as well as your own. How thoughtful of you.

Don’t Go on About It
    So you’ve finally made it to the all-important meeting. You’re sitting across from your boss—or whoever—and you’re actually asking for what you want. You’re making a clear case, putting across your three key points, and showing him why he wants to say yes.
    When you get to the end of your rehearsed spiel, you pause. They’re thinking about it. They don’t react at once. So you take advantage of the pause to add another point, and then another, and another... Stop! Rewind! No, no, no—once you’ve said everything that needs to be said, shut up. Wait forthem to speak next. The onus is on them, so if he doesn’t feel uncomfortable, you shouldn’t.
    The thing is, when you start speaking again the very least you do is interrupt their train of thought when they should be thinking about whether they can say yes to you. That’s bad enough. But you could damage your case even further. Apart from irritating them (and we want them in a good mood, remember), you could confuse them with extraneous information. You’ve spent a lot of time making sure you are being clear and succinct, so don’t risk becoming muddled and lengthy after all.
    You might even put your foot in it inadvertently: “...and it won’t jeopardize the TMK contract either.” Ah, the TMK contract. The boss had forgotten about that. Now you mention it; they’re not so sure it won’t jeopardize it. Hmmm. Maybe it’s not such a good idea after all.... You see? If you don’t open your mouth, you can’t put your foot in it.
    Right, that’ll do. I won’t go on about it.

Get the Essentials on Paper
    You’ve asked your boss, or the committee chairman, or the bank manager, a big question. They’re going to have to think about it. Maybe talk it over with other people, or even get approval from someone more senior.
    Of course you won’t be there when that happens. So how are you going to make sure they do justice to your request? What if they forget the salient points? Fail to quote those crucial statistics that really clinch the argument? Get the baseline figures wrong? What indeed?
    There’s a simple way around this. You just need to take a written summary to the meeting with you and hand it over. Keep it to less than a page, laid out well with headings, bullet points, and lots of space. You know, so it looks easy to read quickly or get the key points from just by scanning. You’re supposed to make this easy for them, remember. No one’s going to bother to read a full sheet of close-typed text.
    Think how reassuring that is. Whoever they talk to, or whenever they decide to think about their decision, you can be confident that they have all the facts and arguments they could need at hand, and you know they’re accurate because you supplied them yourself.

Have a Bottom Line
    Of course, after you’ve asked you may not get a straight answer. You may get a conditional one. In other words you’ll have to negotiate. And when you’ve finished negotiating, you’ll need to come away with something worth having.
    Which is what, precisely?
    You have to know the answer to this question, because otherwise you may find you’ve agreed to something that isn’t actually any use to you. Before you start, you have to know what is the least you’ll settle for. Whether you’re buying a house, getting a pay raise, asking for a loan, or getting the builders in, if you don’t know this before you start, you’re in trouble.
    And often it’s not straightforward. Sometimes these things are a straight yes and no thing—how much are you prepared to pay for this car, for example—but in many cases there