{"id":12920,"date":"2021-07-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/just-one-more-thing\/"},"modified":"2021-07-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T00:00:00","slug":"just-one-more-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/2021\/just-one-more-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Just one more thing…."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Negotiation success is information dependent. Nobody ever leaves the negotiating table wishing they had\u00a0less<\/em>\u00a0information. But information is also a scarce commodity among negotiators, especially truthful information.<\/p>\n

Columbo mastered the art of information gathering in the \u201970s sleuth TV series of the same name. Using what\u2019s now dubbed The Columbo Method, the character epitomized how an unassuming, humble, and bumbling style can unearth a goldmine of accurate information. Organizational psychologist guru Adam Grant might call this the \u201cpower of powerless communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

I grew up on\u00a0Columbo<\/em>. That series fueled my love for a good whodunit. What amazes me with every mystery is how the detective \u2014 or whoever is solving the mystery \u2014 acquires critical and pivotal information. Rarely is it due solely to mistakes made by the crime\u2019s perpetrator. Rather, information is deduced by reason and logic, and\/or it is discovered by asking really good and rightly timed questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one more thing . . .,\u201d as Columbo would say. The backbone of The Columbo Method, this is the leading line to a key question that can unlock the mystery.<\/p>\n

When it comes to information exchange, your job as a negotiator is to either discover or disclose the pivotal information that can move the process forward toward a mutual agreement. On the discovery side, asking really good and rightly timed questions is the key that can turn the lock and open the door. Your discovery questions are designed to get the other party to disclose information, allowing you to put together deals that resolve the conflict at hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one more thing . . .\u201d questions are unassuming ambush questions. There are several variants and interpretations of The Columbo Method, but the key principle is this: With trust having been established, truth dribbles out. Trust and truth have a symbiotic relationship. Your style might cultivate trust, but your question generates truth. There are a lot of different questions that could follow the leading \u201cjust one more thing . . .\u201d statement, but they all have a similar intent and effect. The intent is to get the other side to confirm something you already suspect to be true. The effect is your counterpart discloses information they might not otherwise have revealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are some great \u201cjust one more thing . . .\u201d questions that you can ask to discover dealmaking information:<\/p>\n