What is negotiation?
Negotiation is a process to reach compromise or agreement while avoiding disagreement or argument.
Two or more parties have a discussion to achieve a mutually agreed upon solution to a problem or situation. Negotiation can be used in many different situations, both at home and at work.
Negotiation requires 'give and take' - in most cases each party attempts to influence the other to their point of view.
When building working relationships there will be occasions where negotiation is needed, either for yourself or on behalf of others.
Negotiation requires 2 or more individuals or teams to agree a mutually beneficial solution to an issue or situation without arguing or ignoring each other's point of view. In most cases each party will attempt to persuade or influence the other to their point of view.
Negotiations will require give and take, all parties may need to compromise and sometimes one party may end up being worse of than another. Successful negotiators control the process, and come away with a satisfactory result, regardless of whether they've made compromises along the way.
Know what you want/need to achieve; be equipped with the right information and plan your strategy.
Present your case and listen to what the other party wants/needs
Create a proposal and an counter proposal to try and move both parties closer towards common ground.
Trade between different parties - is there something that is of greater value to your recipient than to you, is there something that they could offer you in return?
This is the point where you need to work towards reaching an agreement.
Gain commitment to action by summarising what has been agreed, who needs to take on actions and when actions will be achieved.
There isn't one perfect style of negotiation. There are numerous approaches to negotiation to choose from, the style that you chose should suit the situation that you are working within. Think about what you're trying to achieve and how willing you are to compromise; some negotiations will be collaborative whilst others will be more competitive. Keep in mind how much you need to maintain an ongoing relationship with the person that you're negotiating with too.
Reflection
