"What is the most important aspect of any negotiation? The very best negotiators know that the answer to that question is leverage: the perceived advantage that one party has over another. Since leverage is based on perceptions, this subtle factor can change quickly and frequently during deliberations. Knowing how to identify, gain, and sustain leverage is what sets great negotiators apart from the rest of the pack. "Leverage" helps you maximize your negotiation skills by showing you how to recognize and use this often hidden trump card to your advantage in any situation. Written in an engaging, down-to-earth style and packed with self-assessments and sample negotiations, the book is filled with insightful advice and suggestions designed to increase your mastery of this indispensable component of all negotiations. Whether you're a negotiation expert or just a beginner, "Leverage" helps you build personal confidence and advance your skills as a negotiator. Presented in an interactive format and illustrated with numerous examples, the book progresses from two-party negotiations to more complex and specialized situations including multi-party and international negotiations. Along the way, there are questionnaires, exercises, mini-cases, and simulations to help you hone your skills, as well as check your progress and comprehension of important aspects of leverage. The book gives you practical, strategic guidance on how to: identify the indicators or signals of leverage; decrease the amount of leverage held by the other party; manage emotions-both your own and the other party's - and use them to your advantage; gain leverage in e-mail negotiations; and much more. Anyone who wants to win consistently at the negotiating table needs to master the art of gaining and maintaining leverage. "Leverage" is a one-of-a-kind book that shows you how to gain the upper hand, and get what you want, more often."