For this week’s Quick-Fire Friday episode, Rob interviews Karen Laos, who’s based in San Francisco, California, United States. Karen’s a Communication Expert, for almost three decades she’s been coaching women in communication and she’s also an International Best-Selling Author of Trust Your Own Voice. In the corporate world: communication, confidence, and negotiation are keys for a small-medium business owner to succeed; whether closing a sale with a customer or negotiating with an investor. Karen has mastered if not close to learning those three fields. She has developed effective techniques and strategies that business owners can use to improve their communication and boost their confidence, which will then lead to a fruitful negotiation. A lot of people think that what happens in a negotiation, is that one person wins and the other one loses. However, Karen believes that if it's like that, it's not a very productive path to go. “So, the number one thing is to think about it as a relationship. I am building a relationship here.”, Karen said. This Cast Covers: The definition of communication. Knowing what matters to your audience. The definition of confidence. The correct mindset about the act of negotiation. Common thoughts of small-medium business owners at negotiating. Gaining confidence to get things started. Small-medium business owners own their worth. Preparing ahead for tough negotiations. Planting your foot at negotiation but still open for it. Minimizing rambling when communicating/negotiating. Links:  Karen’s Linkedin Karen’s Facebook Karen’s Website Additional Resources: Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss Free PDF: 9 Words to Avoid & What to Say Instead     Quotes: “You can negotiate. You don't have to just pay what's right there at face value.” — Karen Laos. “If we're not understanding each other communication hasn't taken place.” — Karen Laos. “The number one thing is always to know your audience.” — Karen Laos. “Yeah, well, a lot of people look at negotiation, as if it's one person wins, and one person loses.” — Karen Laos. “Yes, I'm going to go with how to stop rambling and get to the points. The number one thing in communication, particularly in a negotiation that I've noticed is people start talking too much, tripping over their words, or saying too many words.” — Karen Laos.     Music from https://filmmusic.io “Cold Funk” by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0