Best behaviour for successful relationships when negotiating.

Key Fact: Skilled negotiators ask twice as many questions as average negotiators.

• Skilled negotiators are very keen to understand the other party's position and to explore all the possible options for reaching a successful agreement. They ask questions to explore the reasons behind positions being taken, to seek proposals from the other party and to check reactions to proposals they have made themselves.

Key Fact: Skilled negotiators tend not to say "no" directly.

• Instead of saying " no I can't agree to that because of X," they will say, " If we do that how will we deal with the problem of X?" Or instead of saying " a 20% price increase is impossible" they are likely to say, " Are you really asking me to pay 20% more in the present climate?" This use of questions as an alternative to a direct "no" can help to prevent conflict and generate further discussion, which might help to resolve the problem.

Key Fact: Skilled negotiators are twice as likely to test understanding of what the other party has said than their average counterparts.

• Skilled negotiators are very keen to ensure there is total clarity about what has been said or what has been agreed. They us words such as " Can I just clarify, when you say X do you mean …?" or " when you say you can't accept X do you mean all of X, or is it possible to move on some elements of it?" As a result skilled negotiators reach agreements that have a much stronger track record of being implemented successfully.