There are two main types of negotiation style, hard and soft. Hard bargaining is also referred to as positional, aggressive , contending, or competitive bargaining; and soft bargaining is synonymous with relational or cooperative bargaining.

谈判风格主要有两种，即强硬型和温和型。强硬型谈判也被称为立场型、激进型、对抗型或竞争谈判型；而温和型谈判则是与关系型或合作型谈判同义。

Hard Bargainers

In a nutshell , hard bargainers want to be victorious and are willing to jeopardize relationships to accomplish their goal of winning. While this negotiation style eliminate the need to make concessions, it also increases the likelihood that the other party will walk away, resulting in no agreement, and that the relationship will be severed or severely damaged.

简而言之，强硬的谈判者渴望胜利，并愿意牺牲关系以达成他们获胜目标。虽然这种谈判风格消除了做出让步的需要，但它也增加了对方选择离开的可能性，从而导致无法达成协议，关系也会破裂或严重受损。

Hard bargainers consider satisfying the other party's needs only if it helps to accomplish their goals and objectives. They tend to withhold important information, purposely provide incorrect bottom-line figures, and embellish facts. As a result of their sometimes deceptive behavior , they tend to distrust the other party. Other traits displayed by hard bargainers are their inflated demands and threats, impatience, pressure tactics, and insistence on their own positions.

强硬谈判者认为，只有当满足对方的需求有助于实现自己的目标和目的时，才会考虑满足对方。他们倾向于隐瞒重要信息，故意提供不准确的底线数据，并夸大事实。由于他们有时会采取欺骗行为，因此往往不信任对方。强硬谈判者表现出的其他特征包括夸大要求和威胁、缺乏耐心、施压策略以及坚持己见。

Because this approach involves little to no preparation, it is used by many negotiators. However, this negotiation style usually does not yield the best results because it alienates the opposing party and leaves them dissatisfied with the outcome. Before deciding to use this approach, serious consideration should be given to the following questions:

• • How important is it that the other party does not walk from the negotiation?
• • How much do you value your relationship with the other party?
• • How complicated are the issues?

由于这种方法几乎不需要准备，因此被许多谈判者采用。然而，这种谈判风格通常无法取得最佳结果，因为它会疏远对方，让他们对结果感到不满。在决定使用这种方法之前，应认真考虑以下问题：

• • 确保对方不退出谈判有多重要？
• • 你有多重视与对方的关系？
• • 这些问题有多复杂？

If you value the relationship you have with the other side, it is important to you that the other party not walk away from the negotiation, or if the matter involves complex issues, hard bargaining will most probably not yield the desired results.

如果你重视与对方的关系，那么对你来说，重要的是不用让对方在谈判中退出，或者，如果问题涉及复杂议题，激烈的讨价还价很可能无法达到预期结果。

Soft Bargainers

In contrast to hard bargainers, the primary concern of soft bargainers is to maintain of improve relationships by finding a solution that appeases all parties. However, to avoid conflict with the other side, soft bargainers will quickly concede, make concessions, and agree to conditions that are clearly unfavorable for them. The major disadvantages of this approach are that often soft bargainers feel that they are taken advantage of or become bitter and resentful following a negotiation. Soft bargainers tend to be more patient, indirect, accommodating , and trusting than their hard-bargaining counterparts.

与强硬议价者不同，软议价者的主要关注点是通过找到一个能安抚各方的解决方案来维持或改善关系。然而，为了避免与对方发生冲突，软议价者会迅速让步，做出妥协，并接受明显对自己不利的条件。这种做法的主要缺点是，软议价者往往在谈判后觉得自己被利用，或者变得愤愤不平，心怀怨恨。与强硬议价者相比，软议价者往往更有耐心、更委婉、更宽容、更信任对方。

So which negotiation style should you adopt---hard or soft bargaining? The answer is neither. A third negotiation style called principled or win-win negotiation is suggested. The main idea behind principled makes both sides feels like winners. Principled negotiation is based on the following four points:

• • Focus on the interests of all parties, not their positions.
• • Separate the people from the issue.
• • Make a list of creative options that meet the interest of both parties.
• • Base the end result on an objective standard.

那么你应该采用哪种谈判风格呢？是强硬讨价还价还是温和让步？答案其实两种都不是。这里推荐第三种谈判风格，即原则性或双赢谈判。原则性谈判背后的主要理念是让对双方都觉得自己是赢家。原则性谈判基于以下四点：

• • 关注各方的利益，而非他们的立场
• • 将人与问题分开
• • 列出符合双方兴趣的创意选项
• • 使最终结果基于客观标准