Say one number, or a narrow range
A wide range is heard as the bottom of the range. A vague answer is heard as no answer and hands the anchor to the other side. So: one figure, or a range whose floor you would genuinely accept, said plainly.
This is easy to agree with and physically difficult to do, which is the entire argument for rehearsing it. The words are short and they come out of your mouth differently the first time.
Then stop talking
Two seconds of silence. That is the whole technique and almost nobody manages it on the first attempt: the number lands, nothing happens, and the discomfort produces a sentence like but obviously I am flexible, which undoes it.
The silence is not a trick played on the other person. It is the interval in which they decide, and every word you add during it is a word they use to decide downwards.
Justify only when asked
Pre-justifying is the second most common mistake. It signals that you expect resistance, and it gives away the evidence before you needed to spend it.
When they do ask, one piece, specific. Market data, a competing offer, the scope of what you are doing now. Three general reasons are weaker than one concrete one, because the weakest reason is the one that gets argued with.
Do not accept the first improvement
The first better number is rarely the last one. Accepting it in the same breath is how a negotiation ends at the second-best outcome and feels like a success.
Linda Park has a band to stay inside and a reason for every figure, which is what an HR business partner actually is. Run the offer scenario before an offer exists, the sentence is much easier to say the second time, and the second time should be the real one.
