By Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez

Here are three questions you may have never asked yourself prior to entering into a negotiation, but should: What kind of negotiator am I? What kind of negotiator would I like to be? And, more importantly, what kind of negotiator do I need to be to emerge victorious in an arbitration or other type of negotiation?

One key to being a master negotiator is intuitively employing different approaches and taking an alternate direction based on each given situation. In order to do this effectively, however, one must first understand nine distinctive negotiator personality archetypes that most people typically use while they are negotiating.

Without this strategic aptitude and application of the right persona for the deal at hand, at best it will be harder than it needs to be, and, at worst, all could be lost.

Negotiation Archetypes

An archetype is defined as a pattern of behavior or thought or, according to Oxford Dictionary, “a very typical example of a person or thing.” So one’s negotiation archetype is someone’s “way of being” throughout the process—those particular characteristics and behaviors that one would use to describe the person and his or her deal-making methodology.

This can be regarded as a role being played, whether contrived or realistic, with the emphasis being on how the person is operating within that role. Learning how to effortlessly and seamlessly apply certain archetypes to specific situations is a powerful skill.

This kind of adaptability and fluidity among different deals—and even as one deal ebbs, flows, unfolds, and changes course—can gain you substantial leverage and advantages, including the ultimate win, or even better, when it’s a win-win for all parties involved.

What are the typical negotiation personalities? While the nine personality models are not all-inclusive, they do represent the primary means by which the majority of people negotiate. Achieving the right balance and striking just the right chord with these individual personalities based on each negotiation situation can pay dividends.

1. The politician is someone who influences or outmaneuvers others. This person seeks support by appealing to popular passions and prejudices through carefully crafted language. A negotiation politician typically campaigns to influence or persuade others to support his or her point of view. Often this approach is only advantageous for one person—also known as a win-lose proposition.

Helpful because the politician archetype is personality-driven more than anything else. Using charisma to get everyone on the same page for a positive cause or outcome is a great way to build success for a particular cause. This can be helpful in any situation where the greater good is the goal. It is also a great leadership strategy to guide a group towards a particular positive outcome.

Hindrance because relying only on charisma and the ability to galvanize others rather than facts, figures, and other data that can make a deal swing your way in more logical and quantifiable terms can render you vulnerable when it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty for the close. Trust may be compromised if you don’t have the data to back up your position.

2. The direct communicator is someone who gets to the point and doesn’t have any time for hearing the story or any excessive communication that will waste time. He or she wants to discuss only the facts and not hear any of the back story or an overabundance of detail. The style of communication is clear, concise, powerful, and quick in order to achieve an agreement or resolution to the negotiation situation.

Helpful because you will get to the point and not waste time in the weeds with details that could delay, and possibly derail, the deal.

Hindrance because you might alienate and offend the other side if it is not not receptive to this hard-hitting style. You also may miss out on a critical piece of information that might otherwise have been revealed had you spent more time in discussion with the other party.

3. The hinter is the opposite of the direct communicator. The hinter does not ask for anything directly, but rather hints around at what he or she wants. It can be done out of fear of being rejected or, sometimes, it is done as a manipulation technique to get the other party to do what is wanted without having ever been directly asked or mandated.

Helpful because it’s a way to test the waters without putting what you want out there in a more committed way. By not making direct requests, you may glean more information—and results—than you would have otherwise by leaving your hints open to interpretation.

Hindrance because you may not get any positive traction on what you want to occur or you may appear to be overtly manipulative, which could hinder the deal. This ambiguity can also make coming to terms a more frustrating and arduous process.

 4. The storyteller wants to tell the entire story. This is someone who, if you ask what time it is, will tell you how to build the watch. With this type, it’s hard to understand what the point is because of the overabundance of information that is shared.

Helpful because this person will disclose all details so the other side can fully understand what is desired or being presented. This approach leaves little room for the other side to doubt, can foster a sense of trust, and may result in conversation that opens negotiations further to great benefit.

Hindrance because many people in today’s time-pressed society don’t have the time, patience, or inclination to hear the story and don’t want to know ancillary details. The receiving party may tune out and not hear a word being said—and perhaps get impatient and frustrated—because there is too much information being provided. This may make people averse to working with you again.

 5. The bully uses aggressive and browbeating behavior to get his or her way in a negotiation. It could be by yelling or body posture, threats or harassment, menacing words, or other fear-based tactics deemed necessary to back the other side into a corner so as to take the power position. The object is to intimidate the other party so they’ll give in and agree to the bully’s terms.

Helpful because exerting power and dominance up-front may prevent the other side from attempting to employ a strategy that takes advantage of you. If they see your strength up-front, they may change their position before ever asserting it.

Hindrance because the other side may regard you as out of control, not in your right mind, and generally unpleasant to deal with. It’s more than likely they’ll not want to do business with you again, and that your reputation will precede you in similar situations. 

 6. The non-negotiator doesn’t negotiate at all. These negotiation personalities fear negotiation, which they regard as confrontational, and want no part of it. They will agree to whatever the other party wants even if it means losing out significantly. They just want the situation to go away as quickly as possible.

Helpful because the only reason this might be helpful is if the other side interprets this as a shutdown strategy and either takes pity on you or doesn’t want to take advantage of you. They may offer a better deal because of it, but clearly this is not an expected or common outcome.

Hindrance because aside from being perceived as weak from an image standpoint, you will also most likely get a bad deal or be taken advantage of. Most discussions start out with each side offering something to negotiate up or down from, and go from there.

If you take the first offer that’s presented when the other party started high, fully expecting to negotiate down, as most do, you may end up in a deal that doesn’t make sense financially or otherwise.

7. The victim attempts to parlay hard luck to gain sympathy regarding a situation so the other party will go easy on him or her. The victim may go on in great detail about the situation that is being experienced in an attempt to make others feel sorry for him or her—the hopeful endgame being that the opposing party will be more receptive and agreeable to the victim’s position and terms and not negotiate as robustly as the opposite side would otherwise.

Helpful because someone may indeed feel sorry for your situation and give you a break. We all have things happen in our lives and careers and, if you use this as an honest way to get a better deal, both sides can often feel good about the outcome.

Hindrance because often people use this as a manipulation tactic in an attempt to get out of a situation. The other side may see this for what it is and call you out on it, which can be embarrassing and undermine your credibility.

Not only will you not get a better deal, the other party may actually negotiate with greater resolve than it would have otherwise in response to what is perceived as an attempted manipulation.

8. The nutburger is someone with whom you can’t negotiate. There’s no reasoning with the person whose behavior is irrational, overly emotional, or just plain nutty. This personality type can be construed as anxious, stressed, frustrated, angry, or downright weird.

Helpful because deflection by rant is indeed a negotiation strategy. If you go on a rant or are clearly upset about an injustice or something that is justifiably not fair and reasonable, the other side may be more apt to reevaluate your position and give you a better deal.

Hindrance because a person can’t negotiate with crazy. You may lose the deal altogether if the other side thinks you are unstable or unreasonable. Being logical and having the ability to effectively give and receive information is an important aspect of deal-making, and this personality type doesn’t have—or use—this capacity.

9. My Fair Lady or an Officer and a Gentleman is what you want to strive for in your negotiations. Characteristics include negotiating with integrity, ethics, and considering what is and is not fair and reasonable for both sides to create a win-win outcome.

The most effective negotiators use some or all of the archetype characteristics discussed above in differing situations. The key is knowing which ones to use and when to use them ethically and honorably in order to achieve your objectives in the negotiation.

Helpful because you are using a balance of all applicable archetypes when it is required. Understanding how you and how other people negotiate, and where the other side is coming from, allows you to present your side using a calculated approach that can throttle as needed.

Hindrance because you may spend more time analyzing how a person is negotiating than paying attention to the details of the negotiation itself. Overanalysis is paralysis, as the saying goes, and you don’t want to get stuck scrutinizing on a macro level instead of negotiating the all-important micro matters.

Strive for Adaptability

Understanding these nine archetypes and discerning where you tend to naturally fall, how other people are categorized in relation to you, and how to capitalize on a different type of personality approach—and deal with those of others—is a tremendous asset in your negotiation arsenal.

Such adaptability is sure to serve you well as you strive to reach agreements with others, however challenging the other side may be.

Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, chief executive officer, Dynamic Vision International, Irvine, California, is author of Think Like a Negotiator (Eldonna@ThinkLikeANegotiator.com; www.ThinkLikeANegotiator.com). Author retains article copyright.