The most accurate indicator of the outcome of any negotiation, regardless of the topic,

is the party's level of power. There are four ways that power helps negotiators, despite

the fact that it is significant for many other reasons as well.

The first advantage of power is that it inspires action, no matter where it comes from.

Power encourages negotiators to be more proactive in the course of their discussions,

whether by making the first offer, choosing to negotiate over an offer they've received

rather than accepting it as it's, or breaking a stalemate. Unsurprisingly, these traits

help both the "strong negotiator" and their opponent, who can take advantage of the

more innovative win-win solutions frequently found by such persistence.

The second advantage is that it encourages taking risks. Research by Berkeley

professor Cameron Anderson shows how psychological strength inspires people to

approach problems more creatively and resist the constraints of their adversary's

worldview. The "act first, apologize later" strategy is one that "powerful" negotiators

use to take chances that often pay off in negotiations by stressing less about potential

risks and more on potential rewards.

The third advantage is that power serves as protection. Nobody likes being the target

of a screaming match, but negotiators who feel in control are less swayed by their

opponent's outbursts than those who feel helpless and are therefore too eager to give

in merely to put a stop to the conflict. The more powerful negotiators kept their
 attention on their own interests and made compromises simply to make an agreement,

not to put an end to a nasty situation, according to Gerben Van Kleef, who discovered

that the other side's rage scarcely registered for them.

The fourth advantage is that, if we let it, power can encourage new viewpoints.

According to studies, a negotiator's understanding of the perspective of the other side

actually decreases the stronger they feel throughout a negotiation. Of course, being

able to sympathize with and comprehend your opponent's position is crucial to

achieving a favorable outcome. To profit from the advantages of both, the key is to

combine power with perspective. Make an effort to concentrate on "perspective

taking" because it might not come naturally to the "strong" negotiators among us.

1. BATNA- Is our strongest negotiating position, known as the "best alternative to a

negotiated agreement". We can develop the strength to reject a bad deal by building a

strong outside alternative. The term BATNA was coined in 1981 by negotiation

experts Roger Fisher and William Ury. A party's BATNA is its fallback position in

case negotiations fail. For example, a homebuyer may have more bargaining power

with a seller if she finds another property she likes just as much. To get the best

result, it's important to prepare as well as possible before you start the talks. This

means that you also need to find out about possible BATNAs of the opponent in

order to create a strong BATNA in advance. On the other hand, you should plan for

the other side to do exactly the same; fend off any attempts by the opposing side to

reduce your BATNA.

2. Coercive power typically has a bad connotation. However, because coercive power is

relied on perception, there may be significant risks for the party exercising coercive

power. In a playful example, two male birds would display their dominance by

engaging in a ritualistic rhythm of feather fluffing, color changes, and crowing to

give off the impression that they are the bigger, stronger, and more suitable mate.

Yet, if one bird is startled, falls over, or gets wet with a hose, the performance is done

and the pretense of becoming better is blown. The opposing bird and nearby females

will recognize the truth. Humans have similar levels of coercive power. When we

look back, we may have been told or questioned as youngsters about our fears of

erroneous impressions of harm from others, only to learn that the thoughts were

unfounded.

3. The property with a dual function is reward power. For instance, a manager can

commend a worker for desired behavior. The payout may change based on actions.

we can take an example of a person who is working in the private sector where he

has bonus-earning experiences for commission-based sales. He would receive basic

prizes in addition to a sliding scale of compensation rather than a fixed payment.

Another example can be a person engaged in competition with others and with

himself to maximize the benefit from his work. On the other side, a reward could be

based on a finite amount of cash, vacation time, or another kind of reward resource,

meaning that if one person receives less of a reward, others would receive more, or

vice versa.
 References

Schaerer, M. (2017). The Four Horsemen of Negotiator Power. Instead.

https://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-organisations/four-horsemen-negotiator-

power#:~:text=The%20four%20most%20important%20sources,information%2C

%20status%20and%20social%20capital.&text=The%20strength%20of%20one's

%20alternative,most%20important%20source%20of%20power.

Staff, P. (2022). Power in Negotiation: The Impact on Negotiators and the Negotiation

Process. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/how-power-

affects-negotiators/

Staff, P. (2022). Power in Negotiation: How Effective Negotiators Project Power at the

Negotiation Table.

https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/enhance-your-negotiating-

power/

Hernandez, J. (n.d). The Ten Strongest Sources of Negotiation Power.

https://www.lionsharenegotiations.com/the-ten-strongest-sources-of-negotiation-

power/