When thinking about your own future in the industry, it always helps to get the perspective from those already working and dealing within the industry. One thing quickly overlooked when asking for advice from those working in the industry, is asking about negotiation.
I had a chance to sit down and talk with Morning News Producer, Cassidy Moody, from KSDK, the NBC news affiliate from St. Louis. When asking about negotiations, I noticed that emotions are running high in St. Louis.
The kind of negotiations that he does mostly involve the stories that are going to be aired; about their lengths and subject matter. The negotiations happen often with the executive producer and require quite a bit of give and take.
Mr. Moody stated during this interview, more then you’d imagine, that emotions run negotiations. Get yours under control, or you will always be fighting an uphill battle with professionalism. He goes on to explain that anger makes it hard to get your point across and can distract from the point.
The best way he deals with his emotions are knowing a lot of background information before even speaking to the executive producer. Game theory works really well for him too, because he knows the people that he is going to be negotiating with on a regular basis. Cassidy Moody says, “Sometimes negotiations are a game, you got to play the game.”
Okay, so it’s a game, and we are all spending a lot of time learning how to play this game to the best of our ability. I asked Cassidy for some advice on how to be a better negotiator, and he said, “Learn to separate who the people are from the negotiation itself and be informed so you can present your argument well.”
Cassidy Moody had a lot of great advice. You always learn something more when talking to those actually working within the industry. Take time to hear what people have to say, and understand that with negotiations, you’re looking for the best outcome for both parties, not just yourself. Good luck with your future negotiations!
