Episode #383: Negotiate Anything with Alexandra Carter

Alexandra Carter is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School. She has spent the last eleven years helping thousands of people negotiate better, build relationships and reach their goals. In 2019, Alex was awarded the Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching, Columbia University’s highest teaching honor.

Alex believes that negotiation is for everyone. She is a world-renowned negotiation trainer for groups and individuals from all over the world—including the United Nations, Fortune 100 companies, the U.S. government, foreign governments, not-for-profit organizations, universities and private law firms. Through the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, Alex and her students provide free conflict resolution services and training to many people and organizations who otherwise would not be able to afford it.

Negotiation is more important now than ever, as entrepreneurs and business executives scramble to renegotiate contracts amidst the uncertainty we find ourselves navigating thanks to COVID-19.

We unpacked:

- Why negotiation starts with defining first what we want

- How to prime yourself to successfully navigate any situation

- Key questions to ask to get closer to the deal

...and a whole lot more, so strap yourself in for my conversation with the one and only, Alexandra Carter.

Topics Discussed:

- Working through adversity during COVID-19

- How Alex got into negotiation

- The definition of negotiation

- How negotiation has changed since the 20th Century

- Positive sum v zero sum

- Why ‘what?’ is better than ‘why?’