The fourth of Greene’s 48 laws is “always say less than necessary.” He illustrates this with an example from Czarist Russia of how this was done wrong:
“By saying less than necessary you create the appearance of meaning and power. Also, the less you say, the less risk you run of saying something foolish, even dangerous. In 1825 a new czar, Nicholas I, ascended the throne of Russia. A rebellion immediately broke out, led by liberals demanding the country modernize?that its industries and civil structures catch up with the rest of Europe. Brutally crushing this rebellion (the Decembrist Uprising), Nicholas I sentenced one of its leaders, Kondraty Ryleyev to death. On the day of the execution Ryleyev stood on the gallows, the noose around his neck. The trapdoor opened-but as Ryleyev dangled, the rope broke, dashing him to the ground.
“A messenger immediately went to the Winter Palace with news of the failed hanging. Vexed by this disappointing turnabout, Nicholas I nevertheless began to sign the pardon. But then: ‘Did Ryleyv say anything after the miracle?’ the czar asked the messenger. ‘Sire,’ the messenger replied, ‘he said that in Russia they don’t even know how to make rope.’
“‘In that case,’ said the czar, ‘let us prove the contrary,’ and he tore up the pardon. The next day Ryleyev was hanged again. This time the rope did not break” (Greene 35).
Moral of the story: Sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut.
Related: Is a Fixer-Upper Worth Your Investment?
There are two major components to negotiating for a real estate deal that make it wise to talk less and listen. The first is the nice stuff noted by MindTools.com. Namely, by actively listening, you build trust and rapport with the seller (or whoever else you are negotiating with). The more you talk, the more likely you are to give something away that weakens your hand and the less likely the other side will.
One time, we were talking with a potential investor about a large deal we were looking at. We thought the likelihood of getting the property even with this investor on board was rather low, so without even thinking about it, we didn’t go into any long sales pitch or talk too much. Instead, we let him talk and gained a lot of credibility by actively listening.
In another instance, we were negotiating to buy a property and the seller just loved to talk and talk. The conversation went for close to two hours before we actually got down to business.
Knowing the rules of negotiation, power, and the like aren’t immoral in themselves. They exist whether we want them to or not. The danger is that you exploit these rules in order to exploit others. But if you engage in exploitative behavior, it will almost certainly come back to bite you—and often even ruin you. Indeed, one of Greene’s rules is to guard your reputation with your life. Even if you don’t care about morality at all, you should still care about guarding your reputation. It can take a lifetime to build, but only a few minutes to ruin.
Learning how to negotiate better is by no means unethical. Open your ears and listen. The only key point is that when it comes to talking in a negotiation, less is usually more.
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