How to Negotiate Effectively, Детальна інформація

To signal is not to show weakness. But if both parties wait for the other to signal, the result will be deadlock.

The opponent’s signals will show his willingness to move. So one should listen, recognise his signals and interpret them, looking for the qualified words which are evidence of willingness to move.

Another very important point of negotiations is proposing and bargaining. Proposals should be realistic in order not to cause argument and deadlock. The language of the proposal signals one’s firmness. Weak language such as “we hope…, we like…, we prefer…” should be avoided. Instead, a phrase “we propose…” is appropriate.

The final step in a negotiation is closing and agreeing. There are two aspects to it:

When to close

How to close

The first is the most difficult moment to recognise. There is a balance between:

Closing too early More concessions from the opponent could have been

squeezed

Closing too late The opponents squeezed excessive concessions.

The aim of closing is to get the opposition to stop bargaining and to make an agreement. The final thing to do is to write down the agreement and agree what is written down. It is necessary to do this before leaving the negotiating table.



4. Characteristics of an effective negotiator

What characteristics should one have to be an effective negotiator. The first and the most important characteristics, from the standpoint of many executives and managers of large corporations, is preparation and planning skills.

The other very important characteristics are:

Knowledge of subject matter being negotiated

Ability to think clearly and rapidly under pressure and uncertainty

Ability to express thoughts verbally

Listening skills

Judgement and general intelligence

Integrity

Ability to persuade others

Patience

Decisiveness

5. Conclusion

In spite of the existence of negotiating theories, it is frequently difficult to apply theoretical and conceptual knowledge in a practical situation. In order to be a good negotiator, one should have negotiation skills as well as a theoretical knowledge. But without a practical experience it is hard to negotiate effectively.

Interpersonal skills are very important in the negotiation, but what can help a negotiating party while thinking what to do is not an elaborated theory, but rather is it a simple analysis and intuition.

Bibliography

Raiffa, Howard. 1982. The art and science of negotiation. Harvard University Press. Pages 119-133.

Murcott, Owen. 1991. IBS Management Training. Hanzehogeschool. Groningen.