Negotiation

Skills
Dr. Yasin Sheikh
Negotiations
• Negotiations are formal discussions between people who have different aims or intentions,
especially in business or politics, during which they try to reach an agreement. They try to
reach a common ground eliminating their differences.

• Negotiation in business has become one of the most important skills and abilities. While
negotiation will happen between two parties for reaching an agreement, it is said that the
most effective negotiator will be both competing as well as collaborating. An effective
negotiator is one who creates value for the other while claiming value for the self. There
must be meaningful give and take that should happen in negotiation.

• Negotiation should always be win-win, where agreements are created by taking care of the
interests of both the sides. Negotiation requires interpersonal skills, communication skills
as well as problem solving skills.
Negotiations
• are formal discussions between people who have different aims or intentions, especially in business or politics, during
which they try to reach an agreement. They try to reach a common ground eliminating their differences.

• Negotiation in business has become one of the most important skills and abilities. While negotiation will happen
between two parties for reaching an agreement, it is said that the most effective negotiator will be both competing as
well as collaborating. An effective negotiator is one who creates value for the other while claiming value for the self.
There must be meaningful give and take that should happen in negotiation.

• Negotiation should always be win-win, where agreements are created by taking care of the interests of both the sides.
Negotiation requires interpersonal skills, communication skills as well as problem solving skills.
Types of negotiation

• There are broadly two types of negotiation namely distributive

negotiation and integrative negotiation.
• In distributive negotiation, the parties area only looking for their gain. It
leads to a win-lose kind of outcome. In distributive negotiation,
negotiation is carried out more as an one time transaction, not keeping
in mind any kind of long term relationship.
• While in integrative negotiation, the negotiators look for long term
relationships and they try to ensure value for both sides. It leads to a
win-win outcome.
Skills in Negotiation
• An effective negotiator will be using some of the below
skills during the process of negotiation.
Active listening

Asking good questions

Communication skills (Specially verbal communication)

Decision making ability

Emotional control

Interpersonal skills

Preparing BATNA (Best alternative to a negotiated

agreement, your alternatives)

Problem solving

Smart trade-off development

Ethics and collaboration

6 stages of negotiation

Completing a successful negotiation is about more than interacting with the other
parties in the negotiation. Preparation and implementation are also critical phases,
and it can be beneficial to analyze the process of negotiation as a series of these six
stages:
The 6 Stages of the Process of Negotiation

1. Preparation

2. Open discussion

3. Clarification of goals
6 Stages of the Negotiation
4. Negotiation

5. Agreement

6. Implementation of a plan
6 stages of negotiation
1. Preparation
Effective preparation helps you gather the necessary information prior to negotiation and can improve the quality of
your negotiations. Besides discussing plans for the actual negotiation with other parties during this phase, it's
beneficial to conduct internal preparation prior to the negotiations. Performing research, meeting with stakeholders or
decision-makers within an organization and developing contingency plans can provide you with more options when
you meet with the other parties to hold a negotiation.

2. Open discussion
Sharing information between parties at the start of a negotiation can help you create a more positive outcome for all
sides. This provides each party with an opportunity to discuss their stance at the start of the negotiation and make an
initial case for their side. This helps all parties negotiate from a shared understanding of the key points related to the
negotiation.

3. Clarification of goals
Similar to how sharing basic information can help parties reach a shared understanding, sharing key goals may
produce more effective negotiation between parties. Sharing goals allows you to understand what your negotiating
partners desire and helps them understand your goals. This may help you find areas of common interest and identify
lower priority areas for both sides where you may make compromises to agree on terms.
6 stages of negotiation

4. Negotiation
The negotiation process often comprises several rounds of discussions, offers and counteroffers. During this phase, it can be
beneficial to make an initial offer that matches your ideal result or one that’s potentially more beneficial for the company. This
allows you to make concessions to other parties while remaining close to your ideal outcome.

5. Agreement
As you continue negotiations with the other parties, if your negotiations are successful, you typically come to an agreement.
Often, agreements following negotiations represent a compromise with one or more parties making concessions to reach a deal
that’s fair to all involved. In most business negotiations, this culminates with the signing of a contract that formalizes an y terms
of the agreement to ensure all parties understand their expectations from the agreement.

6. Implementation of a plan
After reaching an agreement, each party involved in the negotiation takes on the responsibility of implementing their portion of
the agreement. When agreeing to a contract negotiation, it's important to understand what your and the company's
responsibilities are in relation to the contract. If the agreement you’ve negotiated includes contingencies, this may provide
multiple implementation outcomes while remaining in good standing on the contract, with a potential change in what other
parties provide as a result, or altering what you provide based on the performance of the other parties.
Negotiation Styles
Negotiation is an important part of a business or nearly any interaction, and it’s
something you’ll likely be doing quite frequently as you work your way up the corporate
ladder. But not all of us negotiate in the same way. In fact, there are five different
negotiation styles: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and
accommodating.

Compete Collaborate Compromise Avoid Accommodate

 Compete Collaborate Compromise Avoid Accommodate

Competing: Competitive negotiators are results-oriented and

focused on getting their own way. They do not focus on the
relationship with the other party or maintaining a good rapport.
Those with a competitive negotiation style are usually less willing
to compromise and, in extreme cases, can be aggressive.

Collaborating: The collaborative negotiation style is a joint

problem-solving technique. It aims to create a win-win scenario.
Collaborative negotiators are great at finding innovative solutions
to complex problems. By working together with the other party,
those exhibiting the collaborating style aim to find creative
solutions that satisfy the needs of all parties involved.
 Compete Collaborate Compromise Avoid Accommodate

Compromising: The compromising style aims to find a middle

ground that is mutually beneficial to all parties. However, it is
different from the collaborative style in that it does not aim for a
win-win scenario. Instead, compromising negotiators seek a
solution in which both parties sacrifice part of what they want for
resolution.

Avoiding: Negotiators with an avoiding style prefer to remain

objective and avoid creating tension. They’ll often defer
responsibility to a counterpart in an attempt to remain neutral.
They do not actively pursue their own interests or the interests
of the other party.
 Compete Collaborate Compromise Avoid Accommodate

Accommodating: Accommodating negotiators prioritize

maintaining the relationship between the negotiating parties.
Those who exhibit the accommodating style seek to satisfy the
other party's needs while minimizing the level of conflict involved
in the negotiation.
 Tricks of nonverbal communication to enhance the
success of your negotiations

Negotiating successfully is all

about arguing and defending our 1. Mirror the other person
interests in the right way. Body
2.Nod and keep eye contact
language is a key element whose
command is a challenge in that
3. Pay attention to your hands
it can determine the outcome of
a negotiation. Take good note of
4. Relax your body
these tips to improve your
nonverbal communication: 5. Don’t forget to smile
Tricks of nonverbal communication to enhance the success of
your negotiations

• 1. Mirror the other person

Look at the body language of the other person and try to adopt their
same tone and behavior. This is the ‘mirroring’ technique; try to imitate
others so as to favor a situation of trust. If our speakers lean forward,
that will show connection and understanding. If they don’t, and they
lean backwards or cross their arms instead, you must try to restore
harmony and ask them what the cause of their upset is, as those are
gestures denoting discontent.
•
Tricks of nonverbal communication to enhance the success of
your negotiations

• Nod and keep eye contact

Nodding and keeping eye contact is essential to reduce tension and
build relationships, even if you are in the middle of a disagreement or
harsh criticism. There are many aspects of body language that can spoil
a negotiation, but hesitant eye contact is the most damaging one. “The
eyes are the windows to the soul” is a saying also applicable to
communication: when you avoid eye contact, you are showing unease
and lack of confidence, which translates into a burden for any
negotiator.
Tricks of nonverbal communication to enhance the success of
your negotiations

• 3. Pay attention to your hands

Your hands should show confidence and calmness. If you are in the
middle of a negotiation, you must avoid showing a feeling of
restlessness (if you put your hands together too often). The best you
can do is to keep your hands in a natural position to convey tranquility.
Tricks of nonverbal communication to enhance the success of
your negotiations

• 4. Relax your body

Even in intense negotiations, it is important to keep a relaxed body
position to help you relieve tension. Add to that a soft and non-
aggressive tone of voice to build trust and favor effectiveness in
negotiations.
Tricks of nonverbal communication to enhance the success of
your negotiations

• 5. Don’t forget to smile

It is highly likely that we will try to build long-term relationships in a
negotiation. Smiling and showing a natural and transparent attitude is
essential for the agreement to succeed.