What is Negotiation really means?
Table of Contents
Negotiation is a method by which people settle differences. It is a process by which compromise or agreement is reached while avoiding argument and dispute.
In any disagreement, individuals understandably aim to achieve the best possible outcome for their position or the organization they work for. However, the principles of fairness, seeking mutual benefit and maintaining a relationship are the keys to a successful outcome.
In business, negotiation skills are important in both informal day-to-day interactions and formal transactions such as negotiating conditions of sale, lease, service delivery, and other legal contracts. Good negotiations contribute significantly to business success, as they help to build better relationships.
Effective negotiation is an essential skill to learn. Whether you are a businessman, entrepreneur, or a babysitter, you will always be able to benefit from knowing how to negotiate effectively.
Stages of Negotiation
To achieve a desirable outcome, it may be useful to follow a structured approach to negotiation. For example, in a work situation, a meeting may need to be arranged in which all parties involved can come together.
The process of negotiation includes the following stages:
- Preparation
- Discussion
- Clarification of goals
- Negotiate towards a Win-Win outcome
- Agreement
- Implementation of a course of action
Negotiation Strategies and Negotiation Techniques to Help You Become a Better Negotiator.
Negotiation Strategy – Strategies for negotiating is understanding the other party’s interests and tactics is integral to good negotiating. Choosing a strategy that best responds to their interests and tactics will help to achieve the best outcome.
Different strategies for negotiation:
- Problem-solving– both parties committing to examining and discussing issues closely when entering into long-term agreements that warrant scrutiny
- Contending– persuading your negotiating party to concede to your outcome if you’re bargaining in one-off negotiations or over major ‘wins’
- Yielding– conceding a point that is not vital to you, but is important to the other party; valuable in ongoing negotiations
- Compromising– both parties forgoing their ideal outcomes, settling for an outcome that is moderately satisfactory to each participant
- Inaction– buying time to think about the proposal, gather more information or decide your next tactics.
Negotiation Tactics – Your chosen strategy will depend on who you are negotiating with and the type of relationship you have with them. For example, what level of cooperation and common interest exists between you, and how well each party behave during the negotiation? It will also depend on what you are negotiating, and the time frame and setting you are negotiating in.
Effective negotiation techniques are useful in many everyday situations: in the workplace with colleagues, during a sales transaction or even within personal relationships. It’s a process between two or more parties seeking to discover a common ground and reach an agreement to settle a matter of mutual concern or resolve a conflict,” negotiating is a skill set which few can afford to forego. Though many undoubtedly already possess many important business skills, one needs to complement them with effective negotiation techniques in order to reach the next level of professional success.
Wouldn’t it be a different world if everybody thought the same? If everybody spontaneously conformed to your every wish, your every thought, your every feeling? Since life doesn’t work that way, you would do well to become skilled at the art of negotiation.
The Art of Negotiation shows how master negotiators thrive in the face of chaos and uncertainty. They don’t trap themselves with rigid plans. Instead, they understand negotiation as a process of exploration that demands ongoing learning, adapting, and influencing. Their agility enables them to reach agreement when others would be stalemated.
Importance Of Negotiation:
“One of the most effective tools in negotiation is the open-ended question. That’s a question that the other side can respond to but that has no fixed answer. The secret to gaining the upper hand in negotiations is giving the other side the illusion of control. And that’s exactly what an open-ended question does. It makes people feel powerful and in charge, and they have no idea how constrained and bound they are by it. You really frame the conversation for them, but they feel very powerful.”
Success in negotiation, like other things in life, does not just happen. A good deal of preparation is necessary to ensure that your endeavours are successful. Being well-prepared breeds confidence and a confident manner can always give you an edge in any communication process. Preparation involves several activities
Successful negotiation is like horse-trading in that it requires a sense of timing, creativity, keen awareness and the ability to anticipate the other party’s next move. Negotiation is also like chess in that each move should be designed to set up not only your next move but several moves down the line. Generally, your moves should get progressively smaller, and you can expect the same from the other party. What is negotiation?
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