How did Ron Shapiro successfully negotiate Joe Mauer’s 4 million contract, the fourth largest contract in the history of baseball? He attributes his success with the Minnesota Twins catcher to his careful preparation. A new book, Perfecting Your Pitch: How to Succeed in Business and in Life by Finding Words That Work , outlines the three-step process he developed as a sports agent and lawyer. Wharton management professor Adam M. Grant recently interviewed Shapiro about the process he uses. An edited transcript of that conversation follows. Adam Grant: I’m here with Ron Shapiro, a world-class negotiator, sports agent, lawyer and bestselling author. He has written a new book, Perfecting Your Pitch . What led you to write this book? Shapiro: One thing that people tend to do when they get to those crucial conversations in life, no matter how good they are at what they do, they think they have it all in their head, and they wing it.…