WOW!!! That’s an amazingly descriptive way of describing the sting of a bullet ant. And there’s more: “Once bitten, the pain lasts anywhere between five and 24 hours with symptoms described as waves of excruciating pain, temporary paralysis and shaking in the poisoned area.” So says Dr Justin Schmidt, the inventor of his own eponymously named four point sting pain index, whose own scale was insufficient to measure the bullet ant’s sting, so it got a 4+. And why on earth does he let them sting him? He says that he has been trying to answer why there is such a huge difference between the stings of similar size insects, some so mild you can hardly notice them, to some that literally knock you off your feet.
And Schmidt thinks he has the answer; those with the most to lose have the nastiest stings. And I don’t think that’s always restricted to the insect world. Think about some of the people you come into contact with, in the context of negotiations and especially disputes. The person that comes at you, in full attack mode. Operating a scorched earth policy within negotiations. One might think that they are reckless to the consequences of their actions, that they really don’t care, but in fact, like the bullet ant, they may be the ones with the most to lose. And if you can identify what that is, if you can indicate to them that you know, then it’s more likely that they will adopt a more rational persona, and you can start to move towards a rational outcome. So the next time an angry person starts throwing everything at you, appears blind to the consequences, and doesn’t seem to care less, start thinking about what they have to lose and then you can start to approach a more rational conversation. Even better if you can indicate how a negotiated settlement will help them to protect what they have, what they’re worried about losing. That is “Loss Aversion”: in behavioural economics a phenomenon where a real or potential loss is perceived by individuals as psychologically or emotionally more severe than an equivalent gain. Hence why the thought of the loss produces the sting. Powerful stuff! Comments are closed.
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AuthorRichard Marshall is an Accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator with over 25 years experience as a Litigation Solicitor, as well as being a qualified Solicitor-Advocate. He is the founder of Striving to Settle, through which he works as a mediator and provides negotiation training. www.strivingtosettle.co.uk Archives
August 2022
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