Are You The Most Effective Negotiator You Can Be?

This past Thursday, That’s Extraordinary hosted Shawn Scudder, an accomplished professional with 25 years of diversified experience in many professional and technological sectors. The topic? The fine art of negotiating.

Through Shawn’s quieting, evaluative style, our discussion flowed from “What are the differences between men and women’s negotiation styles,” to “What are the keys to effective communication with business men and women from different economic, generational, and geographic cultures,” to “What can I do to earn a new contact’s trust?”

We landed upon what was quickly identified as a hot topic: What is a woman’s role in business interactions with men? (Is a ten-foot pole even long enough for that one?)

Here’s a thought: Way back in Genesis 2:18 God says he created woman to be “a helper suitable.” Helper, the Hebrew word ezer means succor: somebody that provides help or relief. Suitable, neged, refers to: those which are alike, corresponding to one another. In essence, God was saying, “I will make someone like him to provide relief for him.” In context, we see that one of the ways in which the woman was to provide relief for the man was to help him tend to the task God had just commanded - to work the Garden of Eden and take care of it.

Woven throughout scripture are portraits of women carrying the foundation of their purpose into various sectors: Esther used her influence as a liason and lobbyist for her nation, the Proverbs 31 woman successfully negotiated in business dealings, and Deborah exacted her power in government, just to name a few. Deborah, a judge and leader in Israel, knew that the way to carry out God’s will for the advancement of her nation was to provide help for her male counterparts (Judges 4-5).

What if the way to effectively negotiate with, communicate to, and earn the trust of our male business counterparts is to build our approach upon this same foundation? What if we communicate from the viewpoint that our presence is vital in the proceedings because we are there to provide a source of relief; what you have to offer will help them effectively tend to their tasks at hand?

What would you have said had you been in that meeting?