Related: 5 trust builders for smarter insurance claim settlements

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Aim high

Communicating lofty goals increases the likelihood that you'll get closer to them. It also establishes the flexibility you'll need for bargaining and exchange, and to avoid being perceived as the purveyor of an ultimatum. This strategy also helps activate a key persuasion trigger.

Naming a high target as part of a negotiation is what psychology calls setting an adaptation level. Neuroscience shows us that the emotional brain is apt to drive decisions more readily when it has a point of comparison or contrast. So, when you eventually modify your original offer to something more appealing to the other party, it winds up looking like a much better deal than it otherwise would have. It is powerfully persuasive, and is the very definition of The Contrast Trigger.

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Slice the salami!

When the other party has the salami you want, you're unlikely to get it if you ask for the whole thing all at once. But a slice at a time? Much more workable. By breaking down the elements of exchange, dividing up the components of value, you effectively reduce the risks associated with concessions or compromise; it simply doesn't feel as drastic or as consequential to the other party to give concessions incrementally.

People's risk tolerance is emotional. Asking for a little at a time helps you align more closely with that risk tolerance, which is a key aspect of The Consistency Trigger. It's persuasive because it matches how people are already inclined to think and act, helping your proposal become the path of least resistance.

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Validate emotions

Neuroscience has proven that humans are more definitively driven by the emotional brain than we ever believed based on behavioral observation alone. We are not thinking machines, we are feeling machines that think. Negotiators who fail to acknowledge or validate the emotions of their counterparts risk more than just the flouting of etiquette or the undermining of rapport. They diminish their ability to persuade.

In any business where brand is a consideration, persuasion is not coercion or manipulation but a function of shared interests and mutual benefit. Productive persuasion is built on a foundation of trust, which is produced by activating The Friendship Trigger. There are many ways to activate this trigger, but validating another's feelings, perspectives or opinions is one of the most effective — and persuasive.

Related: 7 reasons why friends prefer doing business with you

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Use third-party authority

Also known as “limited agent,” this is a way to place limits or controls on your own power, and remain within the confines of a particular offer. We see this strategy most commonly and transparently at car dealerships — the old, “I have to talk to my manager” routine. It's basically passing the buck, but it's a useful way to extend a timeline, move off of a controversial issue, or to actually seek a second opinion.

This is a persuasive strategy because the emotional brain reads the imposition of an institutional limitation as a Reason Why Trigger. In sales and marketing this may take the form of restrictions, deadlines or special offers like scarcity, discounts or free shipping. Reason Why is emotional comfort masking as logical justification.

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Keep questioning

When you adopt and defend a position, your counterpart is likely to do so too. That's what leads to struggle and stalemate. Constant questions — even if it's just to confirm understanding — keep your counterpart engaged and helps foster a cooperative climate.

Although the kind of engagement encouraged by questioning is not in itself persuasive per se, it sets a critical foundation for persuasion to take place. The right questions can easily activate The Friendship Trigger and The Consistency Trigger, for example, but indeed, all persuasion triggers can be vey effectively activated using questions.

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Make concessions

Your ability to yield, to compromise, to grant provisions on a variety of issues contains an enormous amount of value. Don't squander it. To make concessions valuable, know what you're getting in return — even if it's just good rapport or good will. Ideally, your concessions should be made in return for something of higher value to you.

Concessions are persuasive because they activate The Reciprocity Trigger. And here's something from persuasion science that even some of the best negotiators don't know: Making small, non-essential concessions early, or even first, is a powerfully persuasive move in planting an emotional brain-based sense of obligation in the other party.

Related: 9 ways to connect with prospects

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Affirm legitimacy

In any business negotiation there are compliance issues — codes, rules and regulations that govern commercial conduct. Insurance has plenty of them, even aside from the framework of the agent's or customer's policy provisions. You can use them to place real or perceived limits on your offers or flexibility.

Legitimacy carries its own inherent persuasive power because it activates The Authority Trigger. As with any use of this trigger, timing makes a difference. You typically want to avoid using this strategy as a “first salvo,” because it can set a tone that feels limiting or even confrontational, rather than flexible and cooperative.

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Manage timing

You'll always have certain messages or issues that you'll want to get out early in the negotiation process, and some that will have more impact if you hold them off until later. Strategic use of timing can put you at a significant advantage. Time can be a bargaining chip, so don't reveal too much, especially if there's an incentive for you to close the agreement quickly. Use your counterpart's desire to expedite instead for more leverage.

Timing is often used as a Reason Why Trigger. It sets legitimate (though not necessarily logical or real) parameters for agreement, conclusion or decision. But it can also be used as a Hope Trigger when used as part of bargaining — “if we can agree on this issue…” by a certain date, for example, “we can include the special provisions you asked for.”

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Convey flexibility

Flexibility in a negotiation is the consideration of alternatives, and may be conveyed in various ways throughout the process. Even when the answer is “no,” for example, it's important to communicate it in a way that feels flexible rather than contrary. Flexibility is a disincentive for either party to adopt intransigent positions, and it forces you to prepare for alternatives — the very basis for effective negotiating.

Flexibility is one of the most persuasive negotiation strategies because it activates a number of emotional triggers including friendship, reciprocity and contrast. But because it works essentially to lower risk — to reduce the threat-response of conflict or a bad outcome — flexibility most often activates The Consistency Trigger.

Related: Is traditional relationship building overrated?

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Lead from strength

Leading from strength means having the confidence — through efforts like extensive preparation — to be friendly, cooperative, patient and flexible in finding solutions on the road to agreement. You want to cultivate the kind of quiet strength that people feel and respect, not the obstinate kind of strength that people dislike and distrust.

Leading from strength is persuasive because it activates The Authority Trigger. The emotional brain is more easily compelled to cooperate or agree if it recognizes credible expertise, which serves to reduce risk and support a decision in favor of your proposal.

The value of emotion, flexibility, strength and other factors should not be underestimated in negotiations. Each plays a critical role is achieving a positive outcome by influencing decisions and actions.

Russell P. Granger is the CEO of Rising Tide Partners, a consulting and training firm specializing in brand, marketing and selling expertise with a special emphasis on the neuroscience of influence and persuasion. As brand strategy lead for IBM Global Business Services, Granger developed customer engagement innovations for companies such as Samsonite, Key Bank, Dow Jones, Ricoh and Newell-Rubbermaid. Contact him at [email protected]. Rahila Narejo ([email protected]) is a neuroleadership consultant with Rising Tide Partners. A syndicated business columnist for leading European and Middle East publications, Narejo is known for integrating psychometric assessment with brain-based training and coaching approaches.