Negotiation – A Practical Story

This story goes back about seven years (2018). At that time, negotiating with government and donor policymakers was part of my daily routine. Most of my interactions were with these groups, and I had very few negotiations with business leaders. Typically, I would begin the discussions with some background and spend at least 15 minutes giving a detailed briefing to government and donor stakeholders.

However, over the past four years, my approach to briefing has changed significantly. I’ve learned to start with the bottom line—especially when speaking with business leaders—and this shift has been very effective not just for me, but also for others who observed or worked with me.

A particularly practical example took place in 2021 during a meeting with a group of business leaders. The objective was to secure funding for a social cohesion campaign targeting youth and women from marginalized communities. I prepared for five minutes, focusing on presenting the bottom line first. I began my pitch very directly.

Within just two minutes, one of the business leaders interrupted and said, “I understand the problem statement. You're essentially telling us the bottom line is $XXX, targeting # people, within six months.”

I immediately stopped and realized he was absolutely right. He had captured everything I was trying to say in half the time. That moment made me reflect on how much more concise and impactful communication could be. The lesson was clear: what I thought needed five minutes, others could grasp in two.

The learning has been incredibly valuable for me over the last few years. Now, I connect more effectively ‘like elevator speech’ than ever before.