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Tag: negotiating skills

5 ways to successfully negotiate

There is very little that happens in our day that doesn’t require some sort of negotiation. Those who study or even actively think about negotiation have a distinct advantage over those who enter in ignorance.

Here you’ll find some tips to better negotiate in everyday situations:

1. Know when to shut up: The most powerful tool in negotiation is silence. The important thing is to know when to use it. Ironically, the more you stay silent, the more likely your adversaries will expose themselves and give you the advantage.

2. Think of the long term: Always think about how what you say and do can help establish a long-term business relationship. A long-term relationship not only makes negotiating easier the next time, it also makes your business world a better place.

3. Say no: Many of us want to be agreeable and positive and say yes whenever we can, but that’s not the way to get what you want in a negotiation. You first have to know what you want out of the negotiation, and then if you don’t get it, just say no until you do.

4. Look at what’s good for all concerned: During negotiations, remain emotionally detached from the outcome, and rather than focusing on exactly what you want, focus on a result that is in the best interest for all concerned. You’ll either walk away with a great deal in hand or walk toward something even greater.

5. Be ready to walk away: If you feel frustrated, threaten to walk away from the negotiations. Nine times out of 10 the other party then will make concessions. This confirms the long understood negotiation reality that the person willing to walk away is in control.

Image: PixabayGeralt

Find the Right Negotiation Style

Persuading is a key communication skill that helps you to achieve influence with others. The ability to persuade can be developed and improved in order to  become a better negotiator.

The psychologist Kenneth Berrien elaborated the so called Persuasion Tolls Model.  In his studies of applied psychology in the 1940s, Berrien linked negotiation and persuasion style to emotional intelligence (EI).

According to the model, four negotiation approaches exist:
– emotion
– logic
– bargaining
– compromise

The article is meant to help you find the best negotiation approach to use on the base of your level of intuition and your influencing capabilities: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_80.htm

Image source: Diplofoundation

Smile!

During a demanding negotiation, when interests at stake are radically divergent and it seems that there is no more room for the dialogue, a radical shift in the approach to the pourparler could be the turning point of the whole negotiation, even in case of major discussions over national interests, such as the controversial right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to carry on the uranium enrichment process started in 2006.

In effect, this article highlights how a radical shift of the Iranian negotiators’ approach to the nuclear dossier, which opposed the Islamic Republic to the international community, led to the signature of the so-called Vienna Agreement in July 2015.

By shunning the bombastic and confrontational language that had become the hallmark of the Islamic Republic’s officials, Mr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Foreign Minister and chief of the Iranian delegation,  build up a personal relation with foreign diplomats thanks to his easy smile and mastery of English.

In conclusion, when the negotiation is stuck and all options seem inconsistent, a “smile” approach to the negotiation could be more useful than a simple force demonstration, and, in some cases, it could even bring to make an agreement over a nuclear issue possible.

Smile

Image source: Flickr wewiorka_wagner  (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Get Ready to Negotiate: the Seven Elements (Tool #2)

Last week, it was stressed the importance of getting ready before starting a negotiation (link al post precedente). A specific tool, the Four Quadrants, was introduced in order to help negotiators think systematically and collect the right information beforehand. Today, a second tool, the Seven Elements, is introduced. For more information on these tools please check the book Beyond Machiavelli of Fisher, Kopelman, and Kupfer Schneider .

According to the authors, most of the Seven Elements “were originally introduced as a way of explaining the different components of negotiation, but subsequent experience has proven their usefulness as a preparation tool in any situation where persuasiveness may be demanded.” Therefore, before sitting at the negotiating table try and fill out as carefully as possible each of the items in the chart below.

SEVEN ELEMENTS OF A CONFLICT SITUATION
Interests

Have the parties explicitly understood their own interests?
Do the parties understand each other’s priorities and constraints?

Options

Are sufficient options being generated?
Is the process of inventing separated from the process of making commitments?

Legitimacy

Have relevant precedents and other outside standards of fairness been considered?
Can principles be found that are persuasive to the other side? To us?

Relationship

What is the ability of the parties to work together?
Is there a working relationship between their negotiators?
Are the parties paying attention to the kind of relationship they want in the future?

Communication

Is the way the parties communicate helping or interfering with their ability to deal constructively with the conflict?
Are mechanisms in place to confirm that what is understood is in fact what was intended?

Commitment

Are potential commitments well-crafted?
Does each party know what it would like the other party to agree to?
If the other side said yes, is it clear who would do what tomorrow morning?

Alternatives

Does each side understand its Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement – its BATNA?
Are the negative consequences of not settling being used to bring the parties together?

Negotiating skills

What does it take to be a good negotiator? There are many skills involved in negotiations and they should all be considered by those involved in diplomatic negotiations.

In this illustration realized by Stefano Baldi on the basis of his experience in multilateral negotiations, it is possible to have an idea of the main skills that are required for a successful diplomatic negotiator.

Image source: Diplofoundation