David Viscott Quotes

We can argue and we can disagree, but we don’t need to poke our fingers in each other’s eyes in order to get our points across.

Avoid sarcasm. Don't insist on the last word.

It's not necessary with your friends to discuss something you know you will disagree profoundly on.

Negotiation is empathy. It's almost trite to say that if you can't put yourself in the seat of the other person you're speaking with, you're not going to do well. It's not about being a bully, not about making offers people can't refuse.

If your first objective in the negotiation, instead of making your argument, is to hear the other side out, that's the only way you can quiet the voice in the other guy's mind. But most people don't do that.

The key is that when we disagree, we really hear the other one out and agree that there is a more elegant solution than one of us 'winning.'

I don't think you negotiate with people by going around telling them that they're like Nazi guards or it's all about prosecco.

Arguments are healthy. They clear the air.

If you have learned how to disagree without being disagreeable, then you have discovered the secrete of getting along - whether it be business, family relations, or life itself.

The thing is, every relationship is different, and when you start talking about your problems, other people tend to talk about theirs.

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.

My job is to come up with something that you like and you agree with that you would play wholeheartedly. If we disagree, I may not be doing my job correctly.

The most important thing in an argument, next to being right, is to leave an escape hatch for your opponent, so that he can gracefully swing over to your side without too much apparent loss of face.

Be part of the solution and answer to the problem versus part of the problem and continuing argument around it.

I do believe that in order to be a successful negotiator that as a diplomat, you have to be able to put yourself into the other person's shoes. Unless you can understand what is motivating them, you are never going to be able to figure out how to solve a particular problem.

Hold on. It’s not a fight. It’s a discussion.

The two sides should … stop blaming the other side and instead step back and consider what in their own behavior has contributed the derailment..

It ought not to be beyond the intelligence of even the most hidebound local politician to see the benefits of imaginative compromise.

There is no fun in getting into a debate or a contest of wills. If something important comes out of the conversation, okay. If not, that's okay, too.

When I'm arguing, I'm competing. I'm trying to win a game. And if that's what's called for, it's just a reaction.

Unfortunately, I am not the typical, old-school, 'Yes dear, you're right,' just to get out of a situation. I am more of the type to work it out until you think I'm right or I think you're right.

If there are differences of views or divergence of ideas, they can be resolved through discussion and dialogue.

You can disagree without being disagreeable.

If I had a row with my husband, it's not going to work my saying, 'Right, if you don't do what I want, I'm going to walk out.' It doesn't work on any level. What you do is you go in and you say, 'I have a problem. You have a problem. Let's try and sort this out together.' You don't come to an agreement with people who you're falling out with badly.

If I disagree with someone, I let them have their say and move on. I don't want to be the one to lecture.