> You don't want to force them into signing anything,
Actually, you do. The more you give the employee a chance to mull over the whole thing, the more likely they are to lawyer up and hit you with a wrongful termination lawsuit. As the employer, I'd go one step further and if the CFO has allowed for a severance package of n dollars, I would initially offer them 90% of n if they sign right away and if they don't, give them the full n. Anything to get things settled right here, right now, in the room.
This is very interesting to me. Does that mean that if I'm ever in the unfortunate position of being fired I should not sign anything and lawyer up?
Or if I feel like I don't mind signing right away, should I bargain very hard "I'll sign it here and we'll be done but you'll have to give me 150% of what you are offering"?
I think what he's saying goes along with not being a sucker and taking the first offer without first finding out your negotiating position. Hold out a little, or a lot, depending on your counterpart. If nothing else, it's probably good to say "I'm not sure I'm comfortable signing this on such short notice, can I have a few hours to think about it?" and gauge their response. You might immediately make a few extra bucks for just being aware of your options.
Most important is probably knowing the company and the individual you are dealing with. It's easy for people to misconstrue aggression as anger, which may or may not help your case.
