Defuse Quotes

“STRATEGY 4: REFUSE TO ANSWER CERTAIN QUESTIONS. You do not need to answer every question that your counterpart asks. If he asks you to reveal your reservation value, for example, you should not feel compelled to answer. Suppose that the other party asks, “What’s the lowest price you will accept for this shipment?” One way to respond, and to defuse the awkward moment with humor, is to say: “I think you already know the answer—it happens to be the most you are willing to pay for it!” More generally, it is often acceptable to respond to a question that you do not wish to answer with one of the following remarks: • “This is a discussion that we can have later on, once we have both committed to the deal. I don’t feel comfortable divulging this information at the moment.” • “As you undoubtedly understand, we cannot share that information for strategic reasons.” • “The answer to your question depends on many other factors that we need to discuss.”
― Deepak Malhotra, Negotiation Genius: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond