What shouldn't I do when negotiating with my spouse?

What shouldn't I do when negotiating with my spouse?

You're in the room, trying to negotiate with this partner that you, maybe even the day before, said is the love of your life. Here are things you don't do, because they do not work. You don't yell, you don't scream, you don't stand up and walk out of the room. You don't pound your fist on the table. You don't say, "My way or the highway," because all of these actions are a ploy to overpower your partner during a marital disagreement. What's going to happen is you're going to shut your partner down and there isn't going to be any successful negotiation. Another no-no is to blame. Often we see a disagreement as our partner's fault; we start pointing our fingers. No – you're both in this together. Another negotiation tactic in marriage is, do not play hardball and do not over-talk your partner. A lot of partners like to do that. They never shut up; they just keep talking, hoping to get their way. The problem is going to be that you're never going to get your way. It's just going to create more of a breakdown in the marriage. Or, you may get your way this time, but the problem is going to keep coming back because it needs to be resolved.