Effective Negotiation Skills

Why use this programme?

Ever wonder if the deals you get are the best available? Do you sometimes wonder if there is a more effective way of gaining the agreement and co-operation of others? Is “Win-Win” just an aspiration? – or is there more to it than that? How can you get a better deal without it costing you more?

This programme seeks to answer these questions in a practical environment where you can safely learn about your own natural style and practice the techniques that the most successful negotiators use.  

This programme can be run for both experienced and inexperienced negotiators.

AIMS – an overview of the purpose of the programme

• To highlight the role that negotiating skills play in inter-organisation co-operation, internal co-operation, conflict resolution and developing business relationships, as well as the more traditional applications such as purchasing and selling services and products.

• To enhance the negotiating skills of participants so that agreements are secured and retained at an acceptable cost in terms of budget, time and resources whilst partnership working, internal, supplier, and other business relations are developed and improved.

OBJECTIVES – the specific learning outcomes for participants

By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:

Ø      Describe the strengths and weaknesses of their own negotiating style and identify specific areas of behaviour to be developed/changed so as to improve their performance in future internal/external negotiations.

Ø      Prepare for and structure negotiations to apply the seven fundamental concepts of Principled Negotiation so as to obtain more favourable results for their organisation without damaging/jeopardising relationships with partners and other bodies.

Ø      Explain the phases and stages involved in a negotiation and demonstrate appropriate tactics and behaviours in each.

Ø      Prepare and plan for a negotiation in a systematic, flexible and effective way.

Ø      Distinguish between ‘Concession Trading’ and ‘Concession Making’, explain the rules for Concession Trading and apply those rules effectively in future negotiations.

Ø      Communicate more effectively by using the Verbal, Vocal and Visual channels of communication.

Ø      Distinguish between tactics which are acceptable and those which are not, recognise when 'dirty' tactics are being used on them and take positive steps to counter their effect without damaging relationships.

Ø      Apply with confidence, the techniques learned during the workshop, in future negotiations.

The follow up to this programmes is the Further Effective Negotiation Skills Programme.

Several articles on negotiating can be found here.

Duration:  3 days