Question the premise. Marcus Aurelius 4.7

Practical negotiation depends upon premises, assumptions that all parties accept. If you find yourself negotiating with someone who demands a decision you cannot make, one tactic is to question whatever premise they use to make that decision logically inescapable. What we take for granted is always questionable, never to be trusted with careless confidence.

 

 

Ἆρον τὴν ὑπόληψιν, ἦρται τὸ βέβλαμμαι· ἆρον τὸ βέβλαμμαι, ἦρται ἡ βλάβη.

 

 

Remove what is assumed, and the fact that I am injured is removed. Remove the fact that I am injured, and the injury is gone, too.