What is negotiation? According to Robert Maddux, author of Successful Negotiation, negotiation is the process we use to satisfy our needs when someone else controls what we want.

Negotiation takes place between human beings. It is one of the most common form of social interaction. Almost everybody in the world is involved in negotiations in one way or another for a good part of any given day. People negotiate over where to go for dinner, which movie to watch or how to split household chores. Negotiation, in its modern sense, is defined in The Roots of Sound Rational Thinking as follows: the ability to deal with business affairs, to arrange by discussion the settlement of terms, to reach agreements through treaties and compromise, and to travel through challenging territory. All of these suggest a purposeful effort to resolve problems through talking and intellectual maneuvering. Negotiation includes consultation, bargaining, mediation, arbitration, and sometimes, even litigation.