Chapter 128 Even if you pretend to be confused, you need to be able to pretend

Zheng Banqiao, a painter in the Qing Dynasty, once said: "It is difficult to be smart, but it is also difficult to be confused. It is even more difficult to turn from smart to confused." This sentence means: It is very difficult for a person to be smart, and it is also very difficult for a person to be confused. It is even more difficult for a person to sublimate from cleverness to stupidity.It can be seen that, compared with intelligence, being confused is a higher level of intelligence.Because this kind of ignorance is not really ignorance, but smartness that does not show any trace.

The 19th century British politician Sir Richard Field said to his son: "Be smarter than others, if possible, but don't tell people that you are smarter than him." It can be seen that one of the most fundamental principles of playing dumb is "confidentiality".So, on the premise of confidentiality, what should be done specifically?Here is an example of negotiation. Pretending to be confused can defuse negotiating opponents' urgency, bypass terms that are unfavorable to one's own side, and lead the negotiation topic to trading conditions that are beneficial to one's own side.When the other party finds that you have misunderstood his meaning, he will often explain it to you repeatedly, be influenced by your words unconsciously, and accept your request subtly.Therefore, veteran negotiators always take "rarely confused" as one of their creeds, and when necessary, they will be "confused" for a while.This kind of "confused" behavior is not uncommon in boating in the business world, but the effect of negotiation is incomparable when it is "sober".

A large-scale technical construction company in Denmark is preparing to participate in the bidding project for a complete set of plant equipment in Germany in the Middle East.At the beginning, they thought they could not win the bid, but after detailed research and analysis later, they believed that they had more advantages than other competitors in technology, and there was a good chance of winning the bid. After a period of negotiation with the German side, the Danish company wanted to end the negotiation as soon as possible and sign the contract as soon as possible.However, the German representative believed that the talks should continue.During the meeting, the German person in charge said: "When we conducted the contract bidding, we took a reserved attitude towards the amount, which you must understand. Now I want to say something, which may hurt feelings, that is, please your company Reduce the amount by 2.5%. We have told other companies about this idea and are waiting for their reply. It is the same for us which company to choose. However, I still hope that we can cooperate with your company.”

The polite words of the German representative had a strong tone, and the Danish company said: "We have to discuss it." An hour and a half later, the Danes returned to the negotiating table. They deliberately misunderstood the meaning of the other party and replied: "We have written the specification sheet according to the price you requested." Then they listed the items that could be deleted one by one. When the German side saw that the situation was wrong, they immediately explained: "No, you made a mistake. The meaning of our company is to hope that you will keep the specification list as it is."

Next, the discussion between the two sides revolved around the specification list, and the issue of price reduction was not mentioned at all. After another hour, the Danish side was ready to end the talks.So I asked the German side: "How much do you want to reduce the price?" The German side replied: "If we ask your company to cut costs, but the specification sheet does not change, can our transaction still succeed?" This answer actually shows that the other party has agreed with the Danish side. So the Danish company stated to the other party how to work so that the German side could gain greater benefits.The German side showed great interest after listening.The Danish company also voluntarily requested that the German side allocate part of the monitoring work to be shared by the Danish company.

The deal was negotiated, the German side got what it wanted, and the Danish company made few concessions. The Danish company pretended to be confused, deliberately misinterpreted the conditions of the German side, and finally changed from passive to active. Pretending to be confused is a "smart" word, if it is self-defeating, the result will naturally not be good. Pretending to be confused also requires a certain "degree". If it exceeds this "degree" and exceeds the tolerance of the other party, it will inevitably affect the relationship and even lead to the breakdown of the negotiation.In addition, pretending to be confused and deliberately making mistakes cannot exceed the scope permitted by the law, otherwise it will cause many undue lawsuits.

In negotiations, it is very important to be as wise as a fool. For a capable negotiator, smart is stupid, and stupid is smart.When negotiating, pretend you know less than everyone else, and you'll be in a good position.The more stupid you are, the better off you will be. An important reason why being smart is good for negotiations is that humans tend to help those who don't seem smart, rather than take advantage of them.Of course, there are unsympathetic people who always want to take advantage of the weak, but most people want to compete with people they think are smart and help people they think are not smart.Therefore, the purpose of playing dumb is to distract the opponent's sense of competition.How do you have the heart to fight people who ask for help in negotiating with you?If a person says, "I don't know, what do you think?" how can you make fun of such a person with competition?When faced with this situation, most people feel sorry for the other person, and they make way to help him.

Competent negotiators know the importance of playing dumb, and they insist on the following: Buy time to think through the whole thing, so that you can fully consider the dangers of accepting the other party's terms and the opportunity to make additional demands until you reach a conclusion. Decisions should be postponed until consulted with a committee or board. Buy time to have the plan reviewed by a legal or technical expert. Ask for other concessions. Put pressure on the opponent without creating hostility. Under the guise of reviewing the negotiating notes, buy time to consider issues.

In a negotiation, you can use the following phrases to play dumb: "Please say it again, please? I know you have said it several times, but for some reason, I didn't catch it. Please say it again, please?" They think: "What a stupid person I met this time." In this way, the opponent's competitive spirit can be distracted, an unexpected compromise plan can be produced, and the opponent's help may also be obtained. However, don't play dumb when it comes to your expertise.If you're a cardiologist, you can't say, "I'm not sure if you need a triple bypass, maybe a double bypass would do."

In conclusion, win-win negotiations depend on one party's willingness to empathize with the other's situation.If the two parties are at odds with each other, there will be no win-win outcome.Negotiators know that playing dumb can distract an opponent from competition and open the door to a win-win situation.