7 ways to handle confrontation: 1. Stay Calm: Keep your cool. Don’t react emotionally. 2. Listen Actively: Let them speak. Understand their concerns. 3. Acknowledge Their Feelings: Show you hear them. Say, “I see you’re upset.” 4. Redirect Focus: Steer the conversation back to the problem, not the person. 5. Set Boundaries: Firmly but politely state what’s acceptable behavior. 6. Take a Break if Needed: Pause the negotiation if tensions rise too high. 7. Stay Focused on Goals: Keep your eye on the bigger picture, not just the current confrontation. What would you add? 🤝

Don't take it personally. There are many reasons for negotiators to be aggressive, and most them are not about you personally. Take a breath, don't retaliate - it will only spiral out of control. Listen. Let them speak, often with real upset it helps to 'let it out', so encourage them to tell you what has upset them so much. Then use assurances to show you have understood why they are upset, and that you want to help resolve the problem. Remember that sometimes people use bad behaviour to alter the outcome of a deal - it pressures you to give more than you would in other circumstances. Remain calm, and consider any movement carefully through trade, not to 'appease' the other person.

En mi opinión, es muy complicado mantener y llevar a buen puerto una negociación, cuando cualquiera de las partes utiliza la agresividad como estrategia para alcanzar sus objetivos. Cuando esto sucede, hay que intentar retomar por todos los medios la senda del diálogo constructivo y, sobre todo, analizar el motivo de la agresividad, para tratar de gestionar la situación. Básicamente dicha actitud suele venir motivada por las relación entre las personas que negocian, el objeto de la negociación o las presiones que desde el exterior se traslada a los negociadores. Poner foco en el origen de la situación será clave para reconducirla.

Redirect the conversation to focus on mutual interests and shared goals. Reframing the discussion around what both parties can achieve together can help move past the aggression.