• Body language that a member of your team may be sending off.
• Team members who fall under the spell of your opponent for whatever reason: brilliance, flattery, etc.
• Team members who start to rework the agenda.  Opponents will spot the breakdown in team discipline and work it.
• Passing information through idle conversation around the table.
• Team members contesting one another at the negotiating table - perhaps the most costly error when done within earshot of an opponent."

A few things came to mind while reading the clip since this advice applies to more than just negotiation situations.  I wrote about one situation previously after I sat through a particularly disturbing presentation.  What was most distressing about the presentation was the faces of the other members of the presenter's team while he spoke. 

I often look at people other than the presenter during sales pitches.  I'm amazed at how often they will give away a potential problem with their looks as their presenter touches on some topic.

Once a member of our team was having a problem with something being said by our presenter in response to a question.  She made a sound, starting to interrupt and it was picked up by one of the people we were presenting too.  He pointed at her and said "do you have a problem with that answer?"  It wasn't a huge deal, but it added a wrinkle to the presentation and is one of the reasons that I usually limit the number of people participating in sales presentations to those necessary and sufficient to lay out the information, make the organizational commitments and close the deal.

It is a shame when huge amounts of effort are put into a detailed presentation, hours of practice are committed and then a look on the face of a person who didn't even need to be in the meeting casts doubt on something said.  It is worth reminding participants in a group meeting who is making the commitments, when they should interject (I always tell team members to speak up if I am saying something incorrect) and that they will very likely be watched while others are speaking.

Thanks, Business Digest.