Michael Lee’s new book, "Black Belt Negotiating," written with Sensei Grant Tabuchi, teaches readers how martial artists use leverage, power and timing to gain an advantage over their opponents and how negotiators can use the same principles to get the best deals.

Not only will you be able to negotiate for a hirer salary and earn more of what you’re worth, but by negotiating down the price of everyday items, you’ll have more disposable income.

President of EthnoConnect the Multicultural Sales Solution, Michael is a world-class negotiator and former martial arts instructor.  He has negotiated everything from motion picture deals to multi-million real estate transactions and even discounts on gasoline for his car.  His client lists includes Fortune 500 companies such as: Coca-Cola, General Motors, and Chevron.

Published by AMACOM, "Black Belt Negotiating" will be available everywhere next month.

My father always used to tell me “learn to think before you speak.”  I took this little gem of advice and did the same thing I did with every other one he gave me.  Ignored it.  After all, what did he know?

Well, don’t tell him, but he was right.

The other day I was on the phone with our cell phone service provider, once again unhappy with the service they were providing.  After speaking with three different representatives, I was incredibly frustrated at the lack of progress we were making.  So, me not thinking before I spoke, I got angry with the poor representatives who were just doing what little the company enabled them to do.  All I wanted was to have erroneous charges removed from the bill.  But, after my temper flared, the conversation ended and the charges were still there.

Why didn’t I think before I spoke?

As luck would have it, I came across a new book that would have been perfect for this situation.  It’s called, “Why Did I Say That? Communicating to Keep Your Credibility, Your Cool and Your Cash!”  Perfect name, right?  The book, written by Ronnie Moore, gives actual examples and scripts for real life situations.  She includes some really helpful chapters, like how to communicate with people who are taking your money, how to give (and receive) criticism, how to keep your cool and more.

If you’d like to find out more about the book, visit Ronnie’s website http://www.rmoorecommunications.com/products.html.  It also comes as an audio book on cd’s for those of us who don’t have time to sit down with a book.

For now, I am going to go call the cell phone company again and see if I can’t use some of her tips to get those charges taken off!