Negotiation Techniques

What is it?

Negotiation is the process of searching for an agreement that satisfies various parties. An agreement may be reached either through a barter or through real negotiation. A barter allows only one party - the party in a position of power - to "win"; the other party is forced to accept something of lesser value. A real negotiation implies a "win-win" situation, in which all parties are satisfied.

Who uses it?

The team members, the manager.

Why use it?

To avoid dominance by one or more parties and to ensure a "win-win" situation where all parties get their needs met.

When to use it?

When different parties want or need to reach an agreement about the way to work, the program, the assigned functions, the responsibilities, the supervision, etc.

How to use it:

1. Analyze the interest of the parties: This is important to understand the perceptions, the style of negotiation, and the interests and principles of the counterparts, as well as one's own.

2. Plan the negotiation, and determine:

   • What are the expectations from the negotiation?

   • What are the terms of the negotiation?

   • What are the nonnegotiable terms and what can be modified?

   • What is the minimum that an agreement can be reached on?

   • What is the negotiation strategy?

   • What are the most important interests of the other parties?

   • How does one interact with or manage people?

3. Select the appropriate negotiation technique from among the following:

   • Spiraling agreements: Begin by reaching a minimum agreement even though it is not related to the objectives, and build, bit by bit, on this first agreement.

   • Changing of position: Formulate the proposals in a different way, without changing the final result.

   • Gathering information: Ask for information from the other party to clarify their position.

   • Making the cake bigger: Offer alternatives that may be agreeable to the other party, without changing the terms.

   • Commitments: Formalize agreements orally and in writing before ending the negotiation.

4. Negotiate: Be sensitive and quick to adapt to changing situations, but do not lose sight of the objective. Avoid confrontational positions and try to understand the interests of the other party. Some aspects that could interfere with the negotiation are:

   • personal positions and interests

   • psychological and emotional aspects of the persons (place, placement of chairs, body language, gestures, etc.)

   • difficulties in communication (differences in languages, different meanings of the same words, etc.)

Team Negotiation Skills - Finding An Acceptable Compromise

Introduction:

Negotiation skills help you to resolve situations where what you want conflicts with someone else’s interests. As we discussed with in the assertiveness skills section, there are wrong ways of handling these situations: With an aggressive approach, you could seek to overpower the other person to give what you want. This is clearly damaging to subsequent teamwork. With a passive approach, you could simply give in to the other person’s wishes. This is clearly not good for you.

 

The aim of negotiation is to explore the situation, and to find a solution that is acceptable to both people.

 

Different Styles for Different Situations...

There are different styles of negotiation, depending on circumstances. Where you do not expect to deal with people ever again, and you do not need their goodwill, it may be appropriate to play hardball. Here you may seek to win a negotiation, while the other person losing out. Many people go through this when they buy or sell a house, which is why house buying can be such a confrontational and unpleasant experience.

 

Similarly, where there is a great deal at stake in a negotiation (for example, in large sales negotiations), then it may be appropriate to prepare in detail, and use gamesmanship to gain advantage.

 

These approaches are usually wrong for resolving disputes within a team. If one person plays hardball, then this puts the other person at a disadvantage. Similarly, using tricks and manipulation during a negotiation can severely undermine trust, damaging subsequent teamwork. While a manipulative person may not get caught if negotiation is infrequent, this is not the case when people work together on a day-by-day basis. Honesty and openness are the best policies in team-based negotiation.

Preparing for a successful negotiation

Depending on the scale of the disagreement, a level of preparation may be appropriate for conducting a successful negotiation. For small disagreements, excessive preparation can be counter-productive because it takes time that is better focused on reaching team goals. It can also be seen as manipulative because just as it strengthens your position, it weakens the other person’s.

 

If a major disagreement needs to be resolved, preparing thoroughly is warranted, and worthwhile. Think through the following points before you start negotiating:

• Goals: What do you want to get out of the negotiation? What do you expect the other person to want?

• Trading: What do you and the other person have that you can trade? What do you and the other person have that the other might want? What might you each be prepared to give away?

• Alternatives: If you don’t reach agreement with him or her, what alternatives do you have? Are these good or bad alternatives? How much does it matter if you do not reach agreement? Does failure to reach an agreement cut you out of future opportunities? What alternatives might the other person have?

• The relationship: What is the history of the relationship? Could or should this history impact the negotiation? Will there be any hidden issues that may influence the negotiation? How will you handle these?

• Expected outcomes: What outcome will people be expecting from this negotiation? What has the outcome been in the past, and what precedents have been set?

• The consequences: What are the consequences for you of winning or losing this negotiation? What are the consequences for the other person?

• Power: Who has what power in the relationship? Who controls resources? Who stands to lose the most if agreement isn’t reached? What power does the other person have to deliver what you hope for?

• Possible solutions: Based on all of the considerations, what possible compromises might there be?

Style is critical… The best approach for negotiation within a team is to adopt a win-win approach, i.e. one in which both parties feel positive about the situation when the negotiation is concluded. This helps to maintain a positive working relationship afterwards.

 

This governs the style of the negotiation. Histrionics and displays of emotion are clearly inappropriate because they undermine the rational basis of the negotiation and bring a manipulative aspect to it.

 

Despite this, emotion can be an important subject of discussion. For a team to function effectively, the emotional needs of team members must be fairly met. If emotion is not discussed where needed, the agreement reached can be unsatisfactory and temporary. Be as detached as possible when discussing your own emotions. Perhaps it would be best to discuss your emotions as if they belonged to someone else.

Negotiating successfully… The negotiation itself is a careful exploration of your position and the other person’s position, with the goal of finding a mutually acceptable compromise that gives you both as much of what you want as possible. Note that the other person may quite often have very different goals from the ones you expect!

 

In an ideal situation, you will find that the other person wants what you are prepared to give, and that you are prepared to give what the other person wants.

 

If this is not the case, and one person must give way, then it is fair for this person to try to negotiate some form of compensation for doing so. The scale of this compensation will often depend on the many of the factors we discussed above. Ultimately, both sides should feel comfortable with the final solution if the agreement is to truly be considered a win-win agreement.

 

The next technique, the formal setting of team rules, comes into play where both assertiveness and negotiation have failed to build good working relationships...

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