The one thing I've learned about negotiating is that you absolutely must know your negotiating position before evaluating your strategy. Parent post and grandparent post are both perfectly fine points, and how they apply to each of us depends entirely on our set of circumstances.
Equally as important is positioning yourself prior to the negotiation. How the other person views you is one of the strongest drivers of how they will negotiate.
Edit: This is why getting introduced to an investor puts you in a much stronger position than soliciting them directly.
"you absolutely must know your negotiating position before evaluating your strategy"
This is essentially true in any decision-making situation, not just financial negotiations.
I was a really crappy grad student, but I went into my dissertation defense knowing exactly what I was bringing to the table and it went very well. Ditto for the better job interviews I've had.
