“You feel like his prey, and you are!
The last thing you want to do is say “Yes,” even when it’s the only way to answer, “Do you drink water?” Compromise and concession, even to the truth, feels like defeat. And “No,” well, “No” feels like salvation, like an oasis. You’re tempted to use “No” when it’s blatantly untrue, just to hear its sweet sound. “No, I do not need water, carbon filtered or otherwise. I’m a camel!”
Now let’s think about this selling technique. It’s designed to get to “Yes” at all costs, as if “No” were death. And for many of us it is. We have all these negative connotations with “No.” We talk about the rejection of “No,” about the fear of hearing it. “No” is the ultimate negative word.
But at the end of the day, “Yes” is often a meaningless answer that hides deeper objections (and “Maybe” is even worse)”
Excerpt From: Chris Voss. “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It.”