When you know how to give and take, you're good at negotiating and making compromises. For two political parties to reach an agreement, everyone involved has to give and take.
You can also use this phrase as a noun, to mean "bargaining" or "compromise." It's amazing to see the give and take that's involved when the buyer and seller haggle over the price of an item at a flea market or yard sale. Give and take, which was first used around 1770, originally referred to horse races in which small horses had lighter loads to pull, while larger, stronger horses had heavier ones.