This stratagem consists in first offering something modest (the brick) in order to draw out a far more valuable response in return (the jade). You put forward a small lure, an idea or a minor concession, to prompt a high-value commitment or counterpart.
Grounding in the source schoolPractitioner-tradition school
Indicative profile: it situates the “Managing concessions” family as the Asia school practises it, not this technique taken in isolation. Techniques from the same family and school therefore share the same profile. NEGOCOACH editorial rating out of 10, non-experimental · the higher the “relational risk” value, the more costly the technique is to the relationship.
NEGOCOACH assessment
How to read this rating
Tactical potential 6.3/10 (effectiveness, impact, discretion) and vigilance low (relational and ethical risk): two distinct readings, deliberately never merged into a single score that would reward risk. NEGOCOACH editorial rating calibrated from the “Managing concessions” family and the “Asia” school. Each criterion is rated out of 10; click to understand what it measures.
Effectiveness8/10 · Very high
How far the technique can carry the negotiation in the intended direction when it is well executed.
Psychological impact5/10 · Moderate
Strength of the effect produced on the counterpart's perceptions, emotions and decisions.
Discretion6/10 · High
How hard it is for the other party to notice the technique is being used. A high value = very discreet.
Preparation6/10 · High
The information, analysis and rehearsal required upfront to use it effectively.
Relational risk3/10 · Low
Potential cost to the relationship and to trust if the technique is spotted, refused or fails. A high value = riskier.
Ethics7/10 · High
Moral acceptability: fairness, transparency and respect for the counterpart's autonomy. A high value = more defensible.
Level of evidence
Practitioner-tradition school
The school this technique stems from belongs to a tradition of practitioners, passed on through experience, with little or no dedicated study. This indicator qualifies the school, not this technique taken in isolation.
Indicative NEGOCOACH editorial rating, for teaching purposes. For “Relational risk”, a high value signals a cost to the relationship, not a quality.
Overview of CASTING A BRICK TO ATTRACT JADE
Origin & history
This is the 17th of the Chinese Thirty-Six Stratagems. The expression comes from a scholarly anecdote: a mediocre poet, hoping to obtain verses from a master, inscribed poor lines on a wall which the master, whether irritated or inspired, completed with sublime verses; the “brick” had drawn out the “jade”. The principle, close to reciprocity, consists in giving little to receive much: a small initial offer creates a dynamic of exchange that prompts the other party to respond with a greater contribution.
Definition and principle
The technique consists in making a first modest move (a proposal, a piece of information, a low-value concession) calibrated to trigger, through reciprocity or aroused interest, a far more valuable counterpart or commitment from the other party.
Concrete examples of application
Application by context
The same technique, across several negotiation settings
A salesperson offers a small benefit or a useful piece of information that prompts the client to commit to a high-value contract.
Context 2 / 6
Labour negotiation
One party makes a minor opening concession which triggers, through reciprocity, a far more significant counterpart.
Context 3 / 6
Crisis management
The negotiator makes a first symbolic gesture that sets off a dynamic of exchanges of increasing value.
Context 4 / 6
Political negotiation
An actor puts forward a modest proposal that draws a more substantial commitment from the opposing side.
Context 5 / 6
Real-estate negotiation
A buyer grants a small gesture (timetable, guarantee) that pushes the seller towards a far larger concession on price.
Context 6 / 6
Family negotiation
In a division of assets, a generous but minor first gesture prompts the other party to a more significant counterpart.
Counter-techniques
Spot and neutralise this technique
Negotiation is also played on defence. Here is how to recognise this technique when it is used against you, and turn it around.
Detect
The signals that give it away
A "huge" concession on a worthless point
Last-minute nibbling
A visibly unbalanced exchange
Neutralise
The counters that defuse it
Quantify the real value of each point
Never concede without a counterpart
Keep a reserve for the end
Turn around
Turn it into an advantage
Answer any request with a symmetrical one: "If I do that, what do you do?"
The trap to avoid
Giving for free to "make a gesture".
Strengths and weaknesses
This stratagem sets an exchange in motion and obtains a great deal while investing little, relying on reciprocity. Its limits: the “brick” must be well calibrated to draw out the “jade”; too crude, it attracts nothing, and a shrewd counterpart may take the offer without returning the favour.
When should this technique be used?
Useful for setting a dynamic of exchange in motion and prompting a greater commitment. Less effective against someone who accepts gestures without any spirit of reciprocity.
Objectives of the technique
Prompt a response or a disclosure from the other party by putting forward a first low-cost element (a proposal, a figure, partial information) that encourages them to react and reveal themselves
Obtain a counterpart of markedly greater value than what you have conceded, by playing on reciprocity and anchoring
Break a deadlocked negotiation by offering a modest initial gesture that revives the dialogue and engages the other party
Test the ground at low risk: the “brick” serves as a trial balloon to probe the counterpart’s interests, priorities and areas of flexibility
Regain the initiative and frame the exchange by laying down the first marker, while letting the other party believe they are completing or improving the proposal
Famous cases
Sales · The deliberately incomplete quotation: A supplier sends a prospect a first, cursory estimate that is plainly improvable on one specific point (the “brick”). Nettled, the buyer reacts by spelling out their real needs and budget in order to correct the proposal, thereby revealing high-value information (the “jade”) that the seller would never have obtained through a direct question. The supplier then readjusts the offer as closely as possible to the expressed expectations.
Diplomatic · The calculated opening gesture: In a deadlocked negotiation, one party unilaterally announces a minor concession that costs it little (dropping a secondary demand). This modest gesture creates a dynamic of reciprocity: the other side, so as not to appear intransigent, responds with a far more substantial concession on a point that genuinely mattered. A scenario illustrative of the mechanism, not attributed to any specific real negotiation.
Common mistakes
Casting a “brick” of too poor a quality or too crude: if the lure seems contemptuous or slapdash, it offends the other party instead of prompting them to react
Confusing the technique with a genuine concession: giving away something that truly costs a great deal while believing it is merely a lure, and getting nothing in return
Forgetting to prepare for capturing the “jade”: launching the lure without having planned how to exploit the reaction, the information or the counterpart obtained
Repeating the tactic too transparently: by multiplying trial balloons, the counterpart spots the manoeuvre and stops biting
Miscalibrating relative value: overestimating the “brick” or underestimating the targeted “jade”, which makes the exchange unfavourable or unrealistic
Limits and ethics
The original anecdote is disarming and instructive: a mediocre poet publishes imperfect verses to provoke a master’s response. That gesture deceives no one and takes nothing; it opens an exchange, and it describes the best of what creative negotiation does: putting forward an incomplete idea so that the other party corrects it, offering a first imperfect proposal to draw out their own. Used in this way, the stratagem is an invitation, and the value created is real. The tipping point lies in the nature of the brick. If the initial gesture is a genuine gesture, a concession that costs you, information you disclose, then the reciprocity it elicits is deserved. If the brick is calibrated to be worthless, chosen precisely because it costs you nothing while having the appearance of a gift, then you are not exchanging, you are buying jade with counterfeit money, exploiting the other party’s sense of obligation. The test is immediate and you alone can carry it out: does your brick cost you anything? Offering an imperfect idea to bring forth a better one is an invitation; calibrating a worthless brick to obtain jade is counterfeit money.
Scientific foundations
Robert B. Cialdini (2006) Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Revised Edition) Harper Business
Roger Fisher, William Ury, Bruce Patton (2011) Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In Penguin Books
Harro von Senger (2006) The 36 Stratagems for Business: Achieve Your Objectives Through Hidden and Unconventional Strategies Marshall Cavendish Business
Quick exercise
Test yourself before answering
Answer in your head, then reveal the solution. Memory is built through active recall.
1Quels signaux doivent vous alerter ?
A "huge" concession on a worthless point
Last-minute nibbling
A visibly unbalanced exchange
2Quelles parades appliquer ?
Quantify the real value of each point
Never concede without a counterpart
Keep a reserve for the end
Frequently asked questions
The questions we get most
What is the "The Toss a Brick to Get Jade Technique" technique?
This stratagem consists in first offering something modest (the brick) in order to draw out a far more valuable response in return (the jade). You put forward a small lure, an idea or a minor concession, to prompt a high-value commitment or counterpart.
Is the "The Toss a Brick to Get Jade Technique" technique ethical?
Yes. Used in good faith it stays within a fair negotiation: it structures the exchange without deceiving the other party. Being transparent about your intentions strengthens the long-term relationship.
How do you defend against "The Toss a Brick to Get Jade Technique"?
Giving for free to "make a gesture". The right reflex: quantify the real value of each point.
What is the "The Toss a Brick to Get Jade Technique" technique based on?
NEGOCOACH does not assess the experimental validation of this technique in isolation. What we document is the grounding of its source school (Asia): practitioner-tradition school. Full detail is in the "At a glance" section of this page.
Practise with AI
Three ready-to-use prompts
Copy, paste into your assistant, replace the [brackets]. Works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, Perplexity.
Prepare
Build your plan before the meeting
You are an expert negotiation coach. Help me prepare to use the "The Toss a Brick to Get Jade Technique" technique in the following situation: [describe your situation]. Give me: the conditions for success, a 3-step script, my counterpart's likely objections and how to answer them.
Play the role of my counterpart in a negotiation. I am going to test the "The Toss a Brick to Get Jade Technique" technique. React realistically and with resistance, do not give in too quickly, then at the end analyse my performance and suggest 3 concrete improvements.
Here is how my negotiation went: [paste the exchanges]. Analyse whether the "The Toss a Brick to Get Jade Technique" technique was used well, what worked, the mistakes made, and spell out precisely what I could have done better.
Founding works of the 🀄 Asia school this technique belongs to.
L'Art de la guerre
Ouvrage classique
Sun Tzu · -Ve s.
The oldest treatise on strategy, 2,500 years old. Sun Tzu teaches how to win without fighting: know yourself and know your adversary, cunning, terrain and timing, principles transposed to negotiation.
Beyond Culture (haut/bas contexte)
Book
E. T. Hall · 1976
Hall distinguishes "high-context" cultures (implicit, relational) from "low-context" ones (explicit, factual): an essential key to understanding intercultural misunderstandings in negotiation.
Traditions of China, Japan and Korea (guanxi, mianzi, nemawashi, ringi, nunchi, kibun…).
The author
Author
On video
See the technique in action
Videos to picture The Toss a Brick to Get Jade Technique and anchor it through examples.
This stratagem consists in first offering something modest (the brick) in order to draw out a far more valuable response in return (the jade). You put forward a small lure, an idea or a minor concession, to prompt a high-value commitment or counterpart.
The right reflex
Answer any request with a symmetrical one: "If I do that, what do you do?"
Never do this
Giving for free to "make a gesture".
6.3/10 tactical potential Low vigilance Practitioner-tradition school
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