𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 “𝘆𝗲𝘀” 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲.

Most negotiators celebrate too early.

𝘈 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘥. 𝘈 “𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.” 𝘈 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦.

And suddenly everyone relaxes… as if agreement had magically become execution.

Here’s the uncomfortable reality:

𝗔 “𝘆𝗲𝘀” 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 “𝗛𝗢𝗪.”

In high‑stakes negotiations, the “yes” is just the door handle.

The real work begins when you step into the room behind it.

• Suppliers know it.

• Clients know it.

• Experienced negotiators know it.

Why?

Because vague agreements trigger the false-consensus effect — the illusion that we all understood the same thing.

That’s exactly how projects derail, timelines slip, and trust erodes.

At Inness, we call this the formatise technique:

𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 “𝘺𝘦𝘴” 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺.

You negotiate:

- how it will be done

- by whom

- under which constraints

- with what sequencing

- and what happens if reality intervenes

That’s where clarity is created.

That’s where value is protected.

That’s where real negotiation lives.

𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴:

𝗜𝘀 𝗮 “𝘆𝗲𝘀” 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁… 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?