Unfortunately, I was not able to see any boldface text so I will do my best to explain the sentences and hope that will address your question. 1. When I asked my children what negotiating meant, they said, "Talking it over." > The first step in negotiation is to open a dialogue and understand what the positions and concerns are of each side. In essence, the choice is between "talking" and "fighting". Children may not have a very formal understanding of negotiating techniques but they are very familiar with negotiating. "Talking it over" is not just something children do; adults do it, too. For example, if a customer comes into a store angry about something he has bought there, the store owner might say ... "Come into my office and let's talk it over." He's not saying the customer is right, he's just opening a dialogue to learn why the customer is angry and to determine if he can address the customer's issues. 2. We even negotiate with ourselves: we've all had those inner dialogues that go, "If I do this,then I 'll do that. If I buy this, I'll do without that.." We give a little, we get a little. > In negotiating, we cannot expect to get everything we want and give nothing in return. We have to give the other side a little and then we can get a little back in return. Sometimes, we even make such "give and take" bargains with ourselves. 3. Set your acceptable parameters. Or, as they say, "Know when to hold them, know when to fold them." > In playing poker, there's a time to stay in the game because you have a strong hand and there's a time to quit because your cards are not that strong. In negotiating, this is also true. If you have a strong negotiating position, you can be tough and refuse to give in. On the other hand, if you have a weak negotiating position, it may be better to accept whatever the other side is willing to give you because, otherwise, you may wind up with nothing at all. Hope this helps.