Negotiating
Why it matters
You can negotiate for almost anything, and you're going to have to. Getting a raise, buying a car, compromising with your significant other #healthyrelationship.
School is your first opportunity. Anything can be a negotiation once you realize you have leverage. Adults don't take bad deals. Kids do.
A test date, a late-work policy, the seating chart, the phone rule, what happens the Friday before break: somebody decided each of those, and most of them can move. Teachers want an engaged class. Admins want fewer complaints. That's your leverage.
Talk about your negotiating skills in your resume
Student Advocate Sept. 2023 - Present
Negotiated a retake policy with the math department: students who finish test corrections within a week can retake one unit test per quarter.
Doorstop Fellow Sept. 2023 - Present
Secured before-school weight room access twice a week from the athletic director by recruiting student volunteers to run sign-in.
Build stronger negotiating skills
Look for opportunities in class to negotiate. If you feel like you've been assigned too much homework, don't just groan: propose a solution.
Find out what they want. A teacher worried that retakes reward cramming might say yes if students have to do test corrections first. Listen like a hostage negotiator before you make your case.
Bring an offer, not a complaint. "Could we move the test to Monday if we use Friday for a review game?" beats "this is too much."
Know your fallback. Ask for Friday, be ready to take Thursday night.
Get it in writing. Send a two-line email that closes the loop.
Treat "no" as information. Ask, "What would need to be true for this to work?" and come back with that.
Start with the easy ones: ask for an extension, or cut a deal instead of cutting class.
Nervous about asking for anything at all? Warm up with small asks. Every small yes builds trust you can spend on a bigger deal later.