There I was, in the "prime" negotiation moment, silence. I had just turned to the store manager and asked him what he could do to bring the price closer to what had been initially advertised. He began to explain that his salesman should have known better. In fact, less than an hour before my interaction with the salesman, the manager said he discussed with the salesman how to price an item that included expiring instant and mail-in rebates. He continued that the salesman shouldn't have quoted that price because the instant rebate had expired. I politely looked at the manager and said "I can see your dilemma (pause) that seems like your issue and not the customer's" (me). The manager then hesitated, as if in thought. A few seconds went by and still there was silence.

I knew at that point that I had him thinking. Knowing that in negotiation, the first one that talks loses, I suppressed my desire to speak (It was really hard). This was in fact an awkward moment. There must have been almost 40 seconds of silence. If you don't think that's long, stop for 40 seconds while in a conversation with your significant other and see how far you get. Anyway, as he walked away and picked up the phone he said he'd see what he could do. If I had spoken during that moment, I would have let him off the hook. After about 10 minutes on the phone he returned with a counter offer that was about 50% of what I needed. I countered with an acceptance of that offer and added another suggestion (demand) that would take us to where I wanted to be. After thinking for a few seconds, he agreed. Granted, this is small potatoes transaction; however I've found that whether you're discussing an international agreement, a multi- million dollar deal or simply a "small potatoes" transaction, the same guidelines apply.

Silence is uncomfortable for most. As a result, people...