Executive Education looks at negotiation through The Princess Bride
David Worley is the executive director of Executive Education at the Daniels College of Business. One of his all-time favorite films is the Princess Bride (1987), the whimsical story of the lead character Wesley saving the Princess. Worley shares his take on negotiation through the lens of a scene in the movie called the “battle of wits.”
The Princess Bride has several great scenes. One of my favorite is the “battle of wits” between Wesley, the hero, and Vizzini, the Sicilian who is holding the Princess hostage. Wesley finds himself in a negotiation over the Princess which ends in his favor. Watch the clip to understand the context:
In Executive Education, we hosted the Daniels Accelerate Webinar: What Everyone Needs to Know about Negotiation. I think there are three lessons from the webinar that would have helped the Sicilian (Vizzini) in the Princess Bride.
Negotiation can often feel like a battle of wits in which you are on the edge of being tricked into giving something away that will sink your whole deal. But it doesn’t have to feel as if, in the words of Viccini, “life and death is on the line.” Executive Education Faculty Joe Hernandez offered three great insights which are backed by recent research from behavioral science.
David Worley
First, negotiation is fundamentally rooted in a form of guessing. Because of this, you will want to make the first offer to “anchor” your position. This insight is the opposite of what most people have been taught about negotiation. Research from Northwestern University shows that the opening offer highly correlates with the ultimate outcome.
Second, it is important to have a strategy for concessions which will inevitably be required. Few negotiations occur without some sort of revision to both party’s original position. Instead of being reactive with this, have a thought-out strategy in advance to proactively get what you want.
You should give yourself enough negotiating room to ultimately settle within a palatable final deal. Hernandez also encouraged us to give concessions in small increments and use the powerful human instinct towards reciprocity to always get something in return for what you give up.
Finally, bring multiple offers to your deal and present them simultaneously. Practically this means not saving your “real” offer for later in the negotiation, but rather presenting all options at the same time and up front. Assuming each of your three options are agreeable to your side, you will usually end up with a deal that you can be happy with.
This approach also avoids unnecessary conflict in the negotiating relationship and gives you early insight into what the other party values most. Less conflict and more insight into your counterparty will often lead to win-win outcomes for everyone.
So learning from Wesley’s and Vizzini’s battle of wits what went well and what went wrong? From what we learned from Hernandez, for Vizzini, nearly everything. Vizzini didn’t anchor his opening offer, he failed to have a concession strategy, and he didn’t provide Wesley with a range of options in negotiating over the Princess. Is it any wonder that Vizzini ended up dead and Wesley ended up with the Princess?
In summary, negotiation doesn’t have to be a battle of wits. Follow the three tips Hernandez teaches and you will be sure to negotiate better. That said, Vizzini did have his own good tips that we might learn from. The first is to “never get involved in a land war in Asia” and the second is to never “go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!”
Be well and negotiate better!
To watch Hernandez’ full negotiation tips, you can find the Daniels Accelerate Webinar series on the Executive Education website.