Have you ever bought a used car and bargain for the price? How about negotiated a salary or try to agree on a curfew with your teenager?

What strategies did you use in these interactions?

Welcome back to savvy psychologist.

I'm your host, Dr. Jade Wu.

Every week I'll help you meet life's challenges with

evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment. Today we look

at negotiation because whether you're an employee, a parent, or an FBI hostage negotiator,

psychological science can give us tips for how to successfully navigate a negotiation.

So I must confess that in practice, a negotiation.

So I must confess that in practice I'm a terrible negotiator.

I'd rather just pay $80 for an old bookshelf on Craigslist than respond to the ad for a similar

one listed for $60 or best offer.

Those are my most feared words. For me this is probably due to a lack of practice and

a dose of social anxiety. And I'm not alone. Many people shy away from negotiating

because they fear backlash, they feel embarrassed, or just lack confidence in their

ability to do it.

But negotiations can't be avoided.

They exist in our personal relationships,

our professional advancements,

financial marketplaces, of course,

and political structures.

I mean, just ask the members of Congress trying desperately to reach an agreement, or not,

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