Are they good planners, good communicators? Neil Rackham and others of the Sheffield-based research group have done some research into the differences between "average" and "good" negotiators. They found negotiators with a good track record an studied them in action. There was no difference in the time the two groups spent on planning their strategy. However, there were some significant differences on other points.

1. ... took a long-term view.

2. ... thought in terms of the present.

3. ... made lots of suggestions, and considered twice the number of alternatives.

4. ... set their objectives as single points — "We hope to get €2.00", for example.

5. ... set their objectives in terms of a range, which they might formulate as "We hope to get €2.00, but if we get €1.50 it'll be all right".

6. ... tried to persuade by giving lots of reasons. They used a lot of different arguments.

7. ... didn't give many reasons. They just repeated the same ones.

8. ... did more summarizing and reviewing, checking they understood everything correctly.