Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Truth About Negotiations

Rate this book
Learn to be a world-class negotiator: get what you want and need out of any negotiation! Here, top negotiations expert Leigh Thompson brings together 50+ proven negotiation principles and bite-size, easy-to-use techniques that work! Now fully updated, this edition contains brand-new “truths” for negotiating successfully across generations and cultures, negotiating in virtual environments, and more. Thompson provides realistic game plans that work in any negotiation situation and shows how to create win-win deals by leveraging carefully collected information.  Thompson also helps you effectively lay claim to part of the win-win goldmine, and more. You’ll learn how to handle less-than-perfect situations, such as getting called on a bluff, establishing trust with someone you don’t trust, recognizing when to walk away, negotiating with people you don’t like — and conversely, negotiating with people you love. Thompson guides you every step of the way, helping you plan strategy, understand your “best alternative to a negotiated agreement,” make the first offer, control the process (and your emotions), resolve difficult disputes, and achieve the goals that matter most.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2007

96 people are currently reading
583 people want to read

About the author

Leigh L. Thompson

41 books14 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
127 (27%)
4 stars
158 (34%)
3 stars
124 (26%)
2 stars
42 (9%)
1 star
10 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
Profile Image for Moh. Nasiri.
334 reviews108 followers
September 23, 2018
The Truth About 53 series on negotiation.
Well written negotiation books using 53 truth to manage negotiation challenges in business and other environment.To sum up, everything you need to know to enhance your negotiation skills.
What I found interesting in this book about win-win negotiations:

"You have not what you deserve, you have what you negotiate"

ZOPA: "The Zone Of Possible Agreement" , In a business negotiation, two polar-opposite errors are common: reaching agreement when it wouldn’t be wise to do so, and walking away from a mutually beneficial outcome. How can you avoid these pitfalls? Through careful preparation that includes an analysis of the zone of possible agreement, or ZOPA in business negotiations.

BANTA: "Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement",we sometimes reach agreement even though a significantly better deal is available to us elsewhere.
So ,identify your ZOPA and BANTA

Negotiation Styles:
https://www.negotiations.com/articles...
Profile Image for Tony.
272 reviews5 followers
November 1, 2013
Yes, this is a quick read, but unless you have done other reading on the topic of negotiation, I think this is a great introduction to the subject. I have been able to put a number of these principles into action, and feel like I have gotten better results, so it meets the initial smell test.

Were all of the "truths" useful? Not for me. Maybe I don't get all of the final points yet, or maybe I just don't understand how to apply them. At the same time, I don't think I have read yet that is 100% applicable, or that I even agree with 100%, so that doesn't take away from this one that much.
Profile Image for Rohham Farzadnia.
76 reviews5 followers
June 8, 2024
کلا درگیر بودم یه مدت‌ که این کتاب رو با ترجمه «محمدرضا شعبانعلی» گیر بیارم که بالاخره دیجی‌کالا تکست داد که موجود شده.

با مذاکره از طریق شعبانعلی آشنا شدم و این کتاب هم برای همین خوندم. مفید، مختصر و جمع‌و‌جور بود.
منو به شدت یاد فایل صوتی ِ 60 نکتۀ مذاکرۀ مترجم مینداخت.

اگر اهل کتاب نیستید خیلی (که بعیده اینجا باشید و اهل کتاب نباشید) اون فایل‌های صوتی رو پیشنهاد میکنم. ولی اگر اهل کتابید، هم کتاب و هم فایل صوتی رو پیشنهاد میکنم.

Profile Image for Greg Danklef.
78 reviews
November 13, 2014
Easy read and great takeaways. I don't think this could be your only book on negotiation because it doesn't go into enough detail, but it is a solid companion to existing knowledge.
Profile Image for Meeghan.
87 reviews1 follower
February 26, 2024
its been a minute, but i'm back, better than ever (maybe?), and with a "meeghan reads for school: case competition edition." thrilling update for everyone, i'm sure.

i have a case comp in canada this week on negotiations, and this was the recommended reading, so read it i did. i actually THOROUGHLY enjoyed the book, although it seemed extremely high level in some places. i appreciate the way that it's laid out, so that if you are running into an issue in whatever negotiation situation you find yourself in, you can tailor your research to the 50-some odd truths laid out in the book.

overall a 3.75/5 and looking forward to employing the tactics and frameworks described in the book at my competition.
Profile Image for Vitaly Kirkpatrick.
Author 2 books8 followers
February 3, 2023
"The Truth about Negotiations" by Leigh Thompson provides comprehensive insights on how to approach negotiations. The author's negotiation approach is analytical and practical, breaking down complex concepts into easy-to-digest, actionable steps. The book also provides numerous case studies and real-world examples that demonstrate the effectiveness of the author's methods. I found the chapter on power dynamics particularly illuminating and have already started applying some of the techniques outlined in the book to my negotiations. Overall, I highly recommend "The Truth about Negotiations" to anyone looking to improve their negotiation skills.
47 reviews
January 21, 2024
This was the first book I read about negotiations. It starts off with very tactical advice about negotiating. It defines terminology such as "winner's regret" and "BATNA" that are extremely helpful to anyone who tries to buy anything in a market setting, which is practically everyone. Towards the end, it loses steam a bit when it wades into cognitive psychology -- which is relevant but it's better covered elsewhere. All in all, pretty good book.
Profile Image for Dominika Oliwia.
4 reviews8 followers
April 7, 2020
Informative

Had to read it for one of my classes, informative if you didn’t have any prior knowledge about negotiations as it has some nice examples in it. However, if you have some experience in the field this might not be the best choice out there.
Profile Image for Robin Bhan.
Author 2 books2 followers
May 3, 2020
This book is a no-nonsense, concise and practical guide for enhancing your negotiations.
The book describes strategies to move from loss-loss or win-loss situations to ideal win-win situations.
Highly Recommended.
Profile Image for Jonathon M Woloshuk.
2 reviews1 follower
October 11, 2017
Great fast read!

It is a quick read on negotiations. However, I read it as part of a class. It does not go into great detail.
Profile Image for Ipixx.
30 reviews1 follower
August 13, 2019
อ่านฉบับแปล แล้วได้เรียนรู้วิธีคิดและหลักการเจรจาต่อรองกับกลุ่มคนบางประเภทที่เราไม่ชอบ แต่หลีกเลี่ยงไม่ได้ ซึ่งก็พอจะเห็นภาพและวิธีการเพื่อให้งานผ่านไปได้ด้วยดี
Profile Image for Cristina.
4 reviews
February 21, 2021
A good place to start learning about negotiations, but should be read along with other books for a complete perspective on the topic.
7 reviews
July 22, 2022
Great Negotiation Book

A great book about practically looking at each negotiation from strategy and tactic perspective. Highly recommend to everyone for better negotiation results
Profile Image for ilse.
197 reviews11 followers
September 20, 2024
another class read, nothing new to be learned imo.
Profile Image for Aidan Renaghan.
227 reviews
December 23, 2024
Helpful guide to negotiations. Easily digestible with good frameworks. Set up to be easy to reference back to it.
Profile Image for Sohail Maqsoodi.
9 reviews
October 27, 2025
A great and practical book which can be used in real life. It has 53 rules which shows you how to get involved in negotiations.
Profile Image for Lei Ding.
15 reviews
February 1, 2019
This is a dense summary of research-based negotiation insights.
(Not recommended as the main source to learn about negotiation)
Profile Image for Sandra.
334 reviews
December 30, 2024
I had to read this for class but it was enjoyable either way. A lot of good takeaways for negotiating
Profile Image for Adam.
42 reviews2 followers
December 20, 2011
This book, by Kellogg Professor Leigh Thompson presents a quick, concise handbook of 53 negotiation tips. The tips themselves vary from common sense, to "academically" interesting, to valuable reminders. For what it is, (a handbook on negotiation) the book served it's purpose and did so quickly and concisely. My only complaint would be that the physical book should be about 1/2 the number of pages; it is formatted to make it appear more voluminous that it in fact is. That said, I appreciated the concise, direct writing in the book.
Profile Image for Luigi.
Author 2 books17 followers
November 30, 2013
Much better than the cover suggests, well written, easy to follow and usable as a resource. It doesn't go into great depth, which is possibly a good thing, but there is something in it for everyone who negotiates and as Leigh points out, there are negotiations in every aspect of our lives from who gets to use the bathroom first, to getting a good deal on a TV, buying a house, who goes to the wedding and getting your next job. Ultimately combine some smarts with truth and integrity and you can't go far wrong.
Profile Image for Brandon.
6 reviews
November 18, 2012


Good introduction to the art of negotiations. There were times when I wanted more details on how to follow the advice, but the references proved to be a great place to go for more information.
Profile Image for David.
573 reviews9 followers
December 21, 2012
a slightly 2-hr reading on how to proceed to implement a sequential negotiation technique...very sequential as a point to maintain both's platform not to be deviated, ultimately to achieve a possible win/win scenario..other scenarios are also provided...alright to read..
Profile Image for Fabian Santana.
12 reviews3 followers
August 20, 2015
The -blatantly obvious- truth about negotiations.

I'll spend as little time on this review as not to bore you anymore with it: Pretty useless beating around the bush for a couple hundred pages, then it goes downhill.
Profile Image for Collette.
422 reviews
September 4, 2014
Very easy read with palatable tips to consider when negotiating. Since reading this book and taking my MBA Negotiations class, I find that I view transactions through a different lens. I look for more win-win situations and I am more willing to speak up.
Profile Image for Katie Whichard.
4 reviews1 follower
November 16, 2016
I read this book in its second edition. Although not entirely scientific, I think it offers pragmatic advice for negotiations and I will keep it close on my shelf for quick reference. I would recommend this book to my friends in sales and government.
Profile Image for Robert.
1,005 reviews24 followers
March 5, 2009
53 chapters go pretty quick when they're 2-3 pages each.

The title is a bit presumptuous, and some of the "truths" were better than others, but overall some good advice for negotiating.
Profile Image for Bonnie.
55 reviews
July 2, 2011
Great truths, some of which I learned the hard way, others very valuable and good to have in my tool box.
Profile Image for Thomas McGuire.
59 reviews
August 4, 2012
Quick, easy to understand tips. Hopefully I've learned / highlighted enough useful information for upcoming classes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.