Most people think negotiation is about tactics.
Better anchoring. Smarter concessions. Sharper closing techniques.
Those matter. But research says they’re not the biggest factor.
Not tactics. Not leverage. Not who had more information.
Nearly half the result comes down to who you are at the table.
Your style.
What That Means in Practice
If 46% of your outcome is driven by individual differences, then not knowing your style means you’re leaving nearly half the result to chance.
"You don’t know what you do under pressure. You don’t know which situations play to your strengths. You don’t know where your blind spots cost you."
And you definitely don’t know how to read the person sitting across from you.
That’s the gap.
Style Matching™
Knowing your style is step one. Knowing theirs is where the advantage compounds.
We call it Style Matching™ — the ability to identify your counterpart’s negotiation style and adapt your approach in real time.
Style Matching isn’t manipulation. It’s the opposite. It’s paying enough attention to the other person to communicate in a way they can actually receive.
Here’s what it looks like:
🦉 Strategist vs. 🐵 Game Changer — Without Style Matching, the Strategist dismisses creative ideas as noise. The Game Changer sees analysis as stalling. With it, both find the overlap — structured creativity that produces better outcomes.
🐬 Diplomat vs. 🦁 Closer — The Diplomat knows they tend to over-accommodate. So they prepare their bottom line in advance. They let the Closer lead — then hold firm when it matters. That’s self-awareness in action.
Two Sides of Style Matching™
Side 1: Know yourself.
A Closer who knows they talk more than they listen can pause and ask one more question.
A Diplomat who knows they avoid conflict can prepare the hard conversation in advance.
A Strategist who knows they overanalyze can set a decision deadline and stick to it.
A Game Changer who knows they chase ideas can commit to one structure and drive it home.
Side 2: Read theirs.
What are they optimizing for — outcome, relationship, process, or possibilities?
Are they waiting to talk or waiting to understand?
When tension rises, do they escalate or regulate?
When you can answer those questions in real time, you’re not guessing anymore. You’re matching.
This Is Move 1
The 8 Moves™ of Negotiation start here. Not with anchoring. Not with concessions. Not with closing.
Move 1: Know Yourself.
Because if 46% of your outcome is determined by who you are at the table, the most strategic thing you can do is understand exactly who that is.
Then learn to read everyone else.
Want to know your patterns across all 7 negotiation traits — and how to match any style you sit across from?