Let’s face it – negotiating is not an easy thing to do. There is all of  the preparation that goes into it, there is the effort of actually doing  it using all of our negotiation styles and negotiating techniques, and  then, with a little luck, there will be a deal that both sides will  agree to when it’s all over. 

Unfortunately it can be all too easy for us  to do one of the two things that we really should not do: reach a deal  with the other side when we really should not or walk away from a deal  that we should have agreed to. 

In order to prevent this from occurring  we need to take the time to prepare for each negotiation and, as a part  of doing this, take the time to analyze the zone of possible agreement (ZOPA)  for this negotiation.