Tim Duncan teaches the Game Face Technique.

I remember having a good laugh the first time I saw this video, and then I thought to myself: Dude! That would totally work. I went out and negotiated a few things with the ‘Game Face’ technique, it worked on my gym pass, my first car, and a bunch of other things. It is pretty fun to do. People will do exactly as the car salesman, they will beat themselves up if you don’t show them any emotion. It is a very effective negotiating technique when used properly.

Key to an effective Game Face.

It has to be authentic. You have to mean it. If you are all geeked out then it will be hard to disguise. If you don’t let emotion creep in when negotiating you will be much more effective at getting what you want for the price you want. I am not an advocate of grinding people until they don’t make any money, but all things are negotiable, and I personally think negotiating is very, very fun. I use the Game Face technique all the time when I ask people if I can do something ‘not on the menu’ and let them think and figure out a solution, it is a lot of fun to watch people solve your problems for you. It is also useful on the flip side of the coin when you tell someone the price of something and it is out of their range, let them figure out a way to pay for it.

Try it out and let me know how it goes.