What the participants said

Before COVID, I flew every week for customer workshops, several days locked in a meeting room. Now everything is 99 percent virtual

In Asia we went completely online; Europe tried hybrid at first, but eventually virtual became the default. Now it’s normal even for tougher topics

We start virtually and move to in-person only at the final stages for eye-to-eye discussions

Usually, we do one physical touchpoint early, say within the first 20 percent of the deal, and then continue online

Hybrid is the new equilibrium. It is faster, cheaper, but still human

In person you could ‘stage’ moments; go for a walk, grab coffee, let tension cool. Online you don’t have that luxury. It’s all about clarity

We used to improvise; now we plan every minute

My slides are shorter, my messages sharper. Virtual forces structure

Virtual lets me plan my day and avoid low Return of Investment (ROI) travel, no more flying for one-hour meetings

In virtual negotiations, you don’t win trust by being charismatic, you win it by being clear and reliable

Trust is easy to lose and hard to rebuild. I start every deal by being transparent about the process, the timeline, and expectations

The customer doesn’t see your body language anymore; they see your punctuality, your preparation, your follow-up email, that’s where trust now lives

One physical touchpoint early in the process makes all the difference

In complex or long-term partnerships, you still need that handshake moment. Once it’s done, virtual trust can take over

. (Participant 6) > **[Figure 27]** “You miss the coffee moments, those unstructured minutes that built real relationships

You miss the coffee moments, those unstructured minutes that built real relationships

Some customers only want structured business calls, no informal talk, which makes it hard to connect personally

Informal touchpoints have to be designed now. I schedule one-on-one follow-ups just to talk human-to-human

If the camera is off, it’s basically a phone call, it kills the connection

Camera on is a must. It’s not about vanity; it’s about showing you’re present

I ask people to turn cameras on because body language still matters, even in a small window

When the other side refuses video, it creates a power imbalance, they see you, but you don’t see them

In physical meetings you could whisper or step out to align; online you can’t. So we choreograph who says what and when

We pre-plan who is in the room, who speaks when, who stays quiet, and who decides. Going in unprepared is a disaster

I spend more time aligning internally than with the customer. Everyone must know their cue

I never go into a call without the numbers at my fingertips, margins, benchmarks, history

We use dashboards like a cockpit. Everyone sees the same facts in real time, which keeps discussions objective

Virtual makes it easier to fact-check on the spot, you can open reports or calculators without breaking eye contact

I use ChatGPT and UiPath’s internal AI to gather insights and analyze financials before every meeting

AI helps predict objections and prepare counter-arguments. It’s like doing a rehearsal with a robot partner

I run ‘what-if’ pricing simulations with Copilot. It saves hours

We use AI personas to challenge our proposals, simulating the CFO or technical lead. It reveals blind spots

In person you could improvise, read the room, adjust. Online, it’s chess, not jazz

Everything is planned, even the pauses. That’s how you control flow

We master the art of choreography. Preparation isn’t just content; it’s rhythm and sequence

Teams, Zoom, Miro, they’re our negotiation rooms now. If you can’t navigate them fluently, you lose credibility

Technical fluency is part of professionalism. Poor setup or late login undermines trust as much as being unprepared used to

We used to judge who had the firmest handshake; now it’s who has the cleanest screen share

A good negotiator today needs to be part diplomat, part technician. If your tech fails, your credibility fails with it

You must treat the virtual platform as your stage, lighting, audio, background, everything communicates professionalism

I use AI for pre-meeting prep, summarizing reports, extracting key figures, and checking consistency across documents

Copilot does 80 percent of the prep, I still review it all, but it saves me hours

AI lets me compare contracts or pricing histories instantly. Before, I’d wait for an analyst; now I just ask the tool

. (Participant 13)I rely on AI to prepare executive summaries before customer meetings, it catches details I might overlook under pressure

AI drafting tools help structure complex agreements faster; it’s like having a junior analyst available 24/7

After long calls, I let AI generate the meeting summary, it saves time and ensures nothing important slips through7

AI role-plays are part of our prep now, we test offers against simulated stakeholders

I use AI to model different pricing scenarios, it shows where we might lose margin or customer interest

AI becomes your sparring partner… it challenges assumptions

AI is powerful, but it shouldn’t think for you, the moment you stop questioning its output, you lose control of the narrative

Some clients get uneasy if they sense AI was used in prep; transparency is key, or it can backfire

We’re not allowed to upload customer data into public AI tools, it’s strictly monitored

I’d love to use sentiment analysis during calls, but compliance says no

AI should assist, not decide. It can make you lazy if you’re not critical

AI can prepare you, but it can’t care. Negotiation is still about human connection.

I used to handle two or three large deals: now I’m juggling seven or eight. Everything is faster, but the mental load is huge

Virtual made scheduling easier, but you’re never off. It’s back-to-back from morning to night

You gain efficiency, but you lose recovery time, there’s no pause, no hallway decompression

Virtual meetings level the field, everyone has the same-sized square

It’s harder for senior people to dominate when everyone’s behind the same camera frame

The boardroom hierarchy disappears; presence now comes from tone and pacing, not titles

When everyone’s on screen, titles matter less… it’s your preparation and clarity that give you authority

Power now comes from who manages the flow of information, not who sits at the head of the table

Germans and Nordics are very structured; Italians and French prefer emotion and dialogue, virtual makes these differences sharper

Silence in Asia doesn’t mean agreement, but many Europeans misread it that way online

Southern Europe still wants a bit of warmth and small talk; if you go straight to business on Zoom, it feels cold

I over-communicate clarity, I summarize more, confirm more, because tone doesn’t travel well online

Virtual amplifies everything, direct cultures become more direct, indirect ones become invisible

Younger colleagues are digital naturals, they multitask effortlessly

Senior leaders still prefer to meet face-to-face; they trust what they can see

The under-forty generation thrives online; the over-fifty group still equates trust with presence

Younger negotiators adapt fast to digital tools, but older ones bring patience and depth, the best results come when both works together

Technology accelerates everything, but people still decide.

Ok, Tim, what I appreciate most about the framework is that it reflects what is actually happening in our day-to-day negotiations. Virtual is not an exception anymore, it’s the standard.

This is the first time I’ve seen AI positioned as an integral negotiation element rather than a peripheral support tool, well done

The new Framework is great, and the human-factor resonated with me immediately. We should never forget that in negotiations, we are still humans, regardless of Technology or AI.

This framework is timely. Our deal cycles are faster, the number of stakeholders has exploded, and expectations have changed. The model helps make sense of this new landscape and offers very practical direction on how to navigate it