Information Technology

We live in the 21st century. It is a great time. It is the era of the Information Age and technology. Communication tools, faxes, mobile phones, laptops, PCs, PDAs that retrieve and send e-mails, the Internet, DSL and modem connections, video conferences, and pagers, have changed today's negotiating landscape. This is an era of accessibility on demand, nano-second technology, and instant gratification.

Technological advances have been good for documentation but they are less so for negotiations. Like a fine wine, some negotiations require time to come to reach their prime. Negotiating, an art, should not be rushed. There is a inherently natural pace to the process and circumventing that relegates it to base bartering.

The compressed time of today's electronically connected world takes the finesse out of negotiating. If you want to barter, succumb to nano-second technology. If you want to negotiate, make face-to-face meetings a part of your strategy and save the time-saving technology for procedural matters.

There are times technology is helpful. Make sure you use it to your advantage. Don't succumb to the expectations of others to do so just to make them happy. You are entitled to your privacy. Use e-mail to press matters forward. Use the U.S. Mail to buy time. Use the Internet to research your opponent. Insure you don't have too much information on the 'net'. Don't scan through documents on the screen. Print and read important documents. Take your time and consider each important paragraph.

Don't give your e-mail address or fax numbers to just anyone. Provide it only to those you want to have unfettered access to you.

The author is an assistant editor at How-to-Negotiate.com, a site featuring articles about technolgy and human communication required in the dispute settlement process and how people negotiate everything in their daily lives be it personal issues, parenting matters, social conflicts, or business or work related challenges. The site promotes the fact that conflict is a natural aspect of everyone's life and we should all work at improving our ability to negotiate the curves life throws our way.