Top Negotiation Skills That You Can Achieve

What is Negotiation?

Negotiation is two or more people finding a common solution to a shared problem. It is a ‘give and take’ situation where sides involved gain benefits at the cost of some compromises.

We negotiate on a daily basis both knowingly and unknowingly. For instance, you subconsciously negotiate with friends on where to tour this semester break. With the right negotiation skills, you may convince them to visit Cox’s Bazar, even though they wanted to go to Kuakata!

Top negotiations skills you can achieve

To be a successful negotiator, you need the right set of skills.

Communication

Communication is directly proportional to effective bargaining. Expressing one’s ideas, thoughts, needs, opinions with each other is the most important element of a discussion. Understanding both verbal and non-verbal cues is essential to avoid misunderstandings. Expert negotiators change their tone, pace, and communication style in accordance with the listener’s needs.

Active listening

Listening thoroughly to what the opponent party is saying is a critical skill to have. Skillful listening can calm tensions, break the impasse, and get you the information you need to keep in mind to build creative deals. Missing out on important facts and details may lessen the ‘win-win’ chance.

 

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence refers to the capacity to manage one’s own emotions as well as identify the sentiments of others. Being aware of the emotions during a negotiation might help you stay calm and focused on the issues at stake. Emotional intelligence in a discussion includes

• Self Awareness – the ability to manage your own emotion.
• Empathy – the ability to understand the perspective of others.
• Social expertise– the ability to manage relationships and manage both care and conflict productively.

Adaptability

Each negotiation is different, and the dynamics within a single negotiation might vary from day to day. An interested party, for example, may quickly shift their demands or perhaps bid unreasonable conditions. A competent negotiator can react quickly and devise a new tactic as necessary by practicing adaptability.

Persuasion

Influencing others is a crucial bargaining power. It can help you to make others support your point of view. Negotiators should approach in an assertive manner keeping the other’s interest in mind. 

Patience

Patience equals time, and more time means a better outcome. Some negotiations require a longer time than anticipated with numerous conflicts & counteroffers. Skillful negotiators use the reasonable time and take breaks to renegotiate with fresh perspectives rather than jumping to conclusions.

Rapport building 

Rapport building makes a strong relationship where both sides feel supported and understood with no hint of greed to cut the ‘ larger slice of the pie’. Rapport can be built by showing a personal interest other than work. For example, if a customer says they have been unwell lately, ask them how they are doing.

Value creation

Value creation means rather than self gain, focusing on overall gain. Consider this analogy- in a negotiation, both sides want to score the biggest slice and give the smaller size to the other side. To break free of this stigma, negotiators shift the goal from growing the slice to growing the whole pie.

Playing reluctant party

As is human nature, one side is usually more eager than the other. Playing the reluctant party card makes the opponent party be more flexible. Learning to keep tension and excitement down while maintaining reluctant body language is important to successfully gaining the reluctance advantage. Remember that, reluctant party does not rush to conclusion rather impose challenges by asking difficult questions

Avoiding Anchoring Bias

Numerous research suggests that first offenders exert the arbitrary number and influence the negotiation as follows. To avoid being a victim of it, negotiators should excel in the skills of putting the first bargain on the table.

---

Also Read: Effective Negotiation Skills: Part 1

---

Decision making

Negotiators should know when to put a stop and make a decision. They should be well aware of the last touch points of stakes and gains. It is important to go through all options without overthinking and creating an unfavorable situation.

Who Should Learn Negotiation Skills The Most?

Learning negotiation is equally important for sales, project management, business, managers, international authorities, and leaders. Right negotiating skills training avails all professionals to come under an umbrella without stress and misinterpretation.

• Importance of negotiation skills in business – Business entities need to negotiate between corporate entities, suppliers, vendors, shareholders and employees almost every day. Upright commercial deals can make a business profitable while failure of it can prove a mislay.
• Importance of negotiation skills for managers – Managers negotiate daily with their staff, co-workers, and customers. Many managers are poor communicators because they do not learn the art of negotiating. Learning precise skills can disappear many workplace problems. In case of job entrant interviews, negotiation of salary, job policies, contractual terms have to be carefully thought out.
• Importance of negotiation in project management – Ultimately, bargain skills enable project managers to achieve stronger relationships with stakeholders involved. In case of conflicts on a project, negotiation is the most useful scheme.
• Importance of negotiation skills for sales – Sales needs a strong persuasion skill. Only a skillful negotiator can brew the benefit of it with assertive bargaining.
• Importance of negotiation skills for leadership scholars – leaders frequently require negotiation and good leaders are undoubtedly effective negotiators. To persuade and motivate people to follow your lead, you need to catch their interest and sell your vision to them – all these are part of effective negotiation.
• Importance of international negotiation skills – Negotiation between governments and international authorities can change the fate of people involved. World leaders carefully negotiate for its overpowering influence. For instance, the US and Afghan Talibans negotiation (hosted by Qatar in December 2020) against ‘Missiles First, Peace Later’ policy has stopped ceasefire for a short period of time.

 

Become a master negotiator

No matter what your strengths and weaknesses are, practice always makes you perfect. You need to negotiate more and more to one day become an expert without needing much effort. To get started with it, 10 Minute School brings the negotiation skills course presented by the expert Ejazur Rahman!

---

আমাদের কোর্সগুলোতে ভর্তি হতে ক্লিক করুন: 

• Adobe Illustrator Course (by Mohammad Yeasir)
• Graphic Designing with Photoshop Course (by Sadman Sadik)
• Graphic Designing with PowerPoint Course (by Anisha Saiyara Taznoor)
• মোবাইল দিয়ে Graphic Designing Course (by Sadman Sadik)
• Facebook Ads Mastery by Mark Anupom Mollick

---