Big fish

Disciplines > Negotiation > Negotiation tactics > Big fish

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Act as if you are big fish who can swallow whole any small fry at a whim. Cast the other person as a small fry.

Show how you you are big fish. Act as if you can Wave money around. Arrive in a big fast car. Dress expensively. Name-drop.

Talk confidently. Act confidently, as if you are lord of all you survey. You can even appear arrogant, but beware of overdoing this. The idea is to make the other person feel small in your presence, not to annoy them.

Example

A businessperson in talks about working with another company talks expansively about other deals and plans for the future that include several acquisitions.

A real estate agent arrives late at a house that he is selling in a new BMW. The buyer, partly put off and partly impressed the way the agent talks so nicely, is drawn into the web...

A young woman walks confidently into a bar and calls to the barman, slightly impatiently, giving her order without waiting to be asked. She is served before many others.

Discussion

By acting big and important, you are standing on a pedestal, inviting the other person to admire and look up to you and seeking to please you.

By acting superior to them, you are inviting them to act inferior to you, conceding to your wishes.