Chapter 40Take It or Leave It

In the last chapter, I told you that projecting that you’re prepared to walk away is the most powerful pressure point of them all. If you use it, however, be sure that you’re gentle when you tell them that you’re prepared to walk away. Remember that the objective is to get what you want by projecting that you’re prepared to walk away. The objective is not to walk away—any idiot can do that.

If you’re too blunt in the way you project this, you may antagonize them, so be careful. Don’t use that obnoxious expression “take it or leave it.” Even people of good will who feel that they’re willing to meet your demands may recoil if you use that. Instead, use more subtle expressions such as, “Sorry, but that has to be my ...

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