When negotiating, you should take a moment and pause before giving a concession to the other side.  The moment of reflection gives the concession some significance.  Why is this important?

If you don’t treat concessions as important or significant, the other side won’t think they really gained anything.  After all, if you don’t care about it, why should they?  If the other side doesn’t believe you care about what you are giving up, they might not look at it as a concession at all.  Therefore, you must remember, all concessions are important.  Don’t give anything for naught.  Pause, ponder, reflect, and if nothing else, give the perception that you are thinking it over.

And I’m not saying to act, or pretend.  It’s not just some negotiation trick.  The pause does give the concession importance, and each concession, regardless of how slight, is important to the overall negotiation.  This also helps the other side feel better about what they are bargaining for.  Quick concessions may take the good feelings away from the other party when they feel as if they could have done better if they’d played their hand smarter.  Sometimes it is in our best interest to ensure the opposing party feels good about the deal.  Actually, the best case win-win negotiation is when both parties feel good about the agreement.  It’s funny how a simple pause can assist in achieving that goal.

This is not the only use of a pause during negotiations, but it is one you should make a habit of each and every time you concede something.  So remember, pause a moment before each concession.