Very well written Ovid! I was about to write my own guide based on my experience, but I scrapped it after seeing your answer. I see we agree on point 2. But th

Very well written Ovid! I was about to write my own guide based on my experience, but I scrapped it after seeing your answer. I see we agree on point 2. But the Number 1 point I think is to identify when you are in a negotiation and when you are in an impasse. To me a negotiation is when you both know there is a middle ground, and are both trying to find it. An impasse is when the colloquial unstoppable force meets the immovable object. For example, theists and atheists(not agnostics) will never fundamentally agree about the existence of a god. The time wasted and bitterness generated over this is just not worth it, and you should look at walking away if you can. How to identify if you're in an impasse? That's where point number 2 comes in. Identify what are the real objections and what is fluff. If the real objection is fundamentally opposite to yours and not merely orthogonal, then you have an impasse.