Welcome To The World Of Negotiation

What is negotiation?

• A discussion between 2 or more disputants trying to work out a solution to their problem.

• A dialogue between 2 or more people or parties intending to reach an understanding, resolve points of difference, to gain advantage for an individual or collective, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests.

• A discussion aimed at reaching an agreement.

 
Thus, in essence negotiation refers to some form of communication between 2 or more people or parties to reach some form of agreement or solution.

Critical Skills For Effective Negotiation

• The ability to negotiate requires various interpersonal and communication skills used together to reach the desired result.

• A successful negotiation requires the two parties to come together and hammer out an agreement that is acceptable to both.

• To achieve the desired results, the following skills will increase an individual’s ability to successfully negotiate:

  1. Ability to analyze problems

  2. Ability to prepare

  3. Active listening

  4. Emotional control

  5. Verbal communication

  6. Collaboration

  7. Problem solving

  8. Decision making

  9. Interpersonal relations

Negotiation Styles

• There are 5 primary negotiation styles:

  1. Competing

  2. Collaborating

  3. Compromising

  4. Avoiding

  5. Accommodating

• Each style has its advantages and disadvantages.

• It is critical to be tactical when selecting the style to use including considering the style the other party uses when negotiating. 

Negotiation Killers

• Successful bargaining means looking for positives in every possible circumstance.

• Sometimes negotiators fall into traps and leave resources on the table because they can't see the opportunity. 

• Some common errors that interfere with successful negotiations include:

1. Poor planning

2. Failing to pay attention to the other party

3. Gloating

4. Not being willing to walk away

5. Being overly serious