Negotiation Skills

Introduction to Negotiation Skills

Objectives:

Understand the basics of negotiation Better understand how a negotiating session works and what its key elements are Understand their own strengths and weakness in negotiating Explore how a positive negotiating position will sustain a positive collaborative atmosphere after negotiations have concluded

Conflict

Situations in which concerns of two people appear to be incompatible. It begins when two or more parties with different goals or needs become involved. It can arise from differences in interests, desires or values, or from scarcity of a resource.

Conflict Management
1. The time I felt best about dealing with a conflict was 2. When someone disagrees with me about something important or challenges me in front of others, I usually 3. The most important outcome of conflict is

4. When I confront someone I care about, I

5. I feel most vulnerable during conflict when 6. When someone avoids conflict with me, I

7. My greatest strength in handling conflict is

8. When I was growing up, conflict was 9. My greatest weakness in handling conflict is

Positive and Negative Uses of Conflict

Conflict in itself is not bad. In fact, many good things may come out of
conflict.

The absence of conflict may reflect

underlying problems that are not being
addressed.

Allowed to continue, it could spell major

problems if left unresolved.

Positive and Negative Uses of Conflict

Some Positive Uses of Conflict are:

Forces people to deal with problems rather than avoid interacting with others Provides a warning that things are not going well If it occurs frequently, may highlight something more serious than previously thought Makes people more creative since they have to look for more solution Sharpens problem solving skills Appreciation of others point of view Provides an opportunity for improvement

Positive and Negative Uses of Conflict ( cont)

Conflict gives us the opportunity to address and bring out into the open underlying issues. However, there are few people how can handle conflict in a positive constructive way. Too often conflict can harm relationships through the following:

Positive and Negative Uses of Conflict (cont)

Some Negative Uses of Conflict are: Decreased productivity due to constant bickering Constant conflict may reveal more serious underlying problems Constant conflicts may lead to bickering among staff resulting in polarizing and formation of cliques It can cause undue stress for some people It can lower morale and hinder team building Excessive consumption of time due to confrontation Decision processes disrupted as people are unsure of themselves

Causes of Conflict
Conflict can be boiled down into the following categories: Facts

Methods
Goals Values Expectations

Strategy for Dealing with Conflict

AVOIDANCE

DELAY

CONFRONTATION

COLLABORATION

Strategy for Dealing with Conflict

AVOIDANCE When would you want to avoid a conflict?

When the issue is trivial When maintaining the relationship is not a priority, and the outcome is not a priority as well When theres no chance of getting what you want When the potential of damage outweighs the benefits of resolution

DELAY When would you want to delay dealing with a conflict?

When you want to give someone time to cool down When you want to collect information that would help better identify the problem

Strategy for Dealing with Conflict (cont)

CONFRONTATION When would you want a confrontation? When each partys desire to resolve the situation is high - the problem is deemed important enough for each to invest time, energy and resources - then confronting the issue is in both parties interests.
COLLABORATION When would you want to collaborate? When both parties concerns are too important to compromise When one must better understand the point of view of others When commitment needs to be increased by incorporating others concerns into a decision When looking to improve interpersonal relationships

Negotiation
Perfect Negotiation Two brothers were squabbling over some leftover cake. Each boy insisted that he should have the larger slice. Neither one would agree to an even split. Their mother had the solution. She suggested that one boy cut the cake any way he liked, and the other boy could choose the piece he wanted.

When working in teams, differences in view

are bound to arise. When handled inappropriately, such differences could result in unproductive conflict at the workplace. Negotiation skills are thus important as one possibility for settling disagreements.

Negotiation (cont)
Definition of Negotiation: To come to agreement with someone with whom you have shared and opposing interests Negotiation is a major form of communication for humans. We negotiate with nearly everyone with whom we have shared interests our families, friends, suppliers, bosses, and colleagues. Negotiation skills include:

Satisfying needs, wants and desires Focusing on interests not positions, Techniques for separating people from the problem, Insisting on the use of objective criteria.

It also relies on a sound base of interpersonal skills and understanding of the approach demanded by the circumstances.

Negotiation (cont)

What are the things that we negotiate at home or work?

What are the benefits of Effective Negotiation?

Negotiation Process

Determine the degree of seriousness Identify the organisational and individual self interest Establish mutually acceptable negotiating guidelines Establish ground rules

Contract versus Contact Negotiation

When looking to assess negotiation approaches for resolving conflict, it is important to understand the differences between contact and contract. This difference is explained from a Gestalt psychology perspective.

Contact involves an aggressive response to something of interest. It is knowing what is possible, not necessarily achieving what is desired (Nevis, Gestalt Institute of Cleveland). Contact is just that making contact with something, to explore it and understand it, or to make it a figure as opposed to ground. Contract, on the other hand is two parties coming together and agreeing on terms of an outcome, including what each party is responsible for and a schedule of what will be accomplished by when.

Need Theory of Negotiation

Nierenberg Need Theory of Negotiation:

Needs and their satisfaction are the common denominator in negotiation If people had no unsatisfied needs, they would never negotiate Requires two parties, motivated by needs, to start a negotiation Negotiation presupposes that both sides want something; otherwise they would turn a deaf ear to each others demands and there would be no bargaining This is true, even if the need is to maintain the status quo

Needs, Wants and Desires in Negotiation

Our Needs Our Wants Our Desires Their Needs

Gap = Not Meeting Needs, Wants & Desires

Their Wants Their Desires

Negotiation = Closing The Gap

Our Needs Their Needs

Our Desires Our Wants

Their Desires Their Wants

Focus on Interests Not Position

Interests define the problem. Interests are what you really want. A position is a stand that you take, and usually dont budge from. Positions frequently get in the way of finding a solution to meet both parties interests and needs. Roger Fisher

Complexities of People Problems

Interpersonal skills are very important in negotiation because conflicting positions deteriorate into personality conflicts. Personality conflict is where one or both parties feel that other does not value them, trust them or respect them. To overcome, or prevent, a personality conflict requires self-confidence, discipline and skills. Some of the skills involved are Perception, Emotion and Communication

Complexities of People Problems (cont)

Perception is when you:

Put yourself in their shoes

Dont deduce their intentions from your fears Dont blame them for your problem Discuss each others perceptions Face-saving: Make your proposals consistent with their values

Complexities of People Problems (cont)

Emotion is:

Recognising and understanding emotions - theirs and yours

Acknowledging them as legitimate Allowing the other side to let off steam

Not reacting to emotional outbursts

Complexities of People Problems (cont)

Communication is:

Active listening, acknowledging what is being said Speaking to be understood Speaking about yourself not them

Building a working relationship

Facing the problem not the people

Key Objectives in Negotiation 1. Ensure that all topics that you wish to have discussed are covered and dealt with to your satisfaction. 2. Ensure either that those points which you do not wish to have raised are not raised or, if they are, that you can suitably counter them. 3. Ascertain what it is that your opponent is hoping to obtain from the discussion. Just as you evaluated your own, you should assess your opponents needs, wants and desires.

Key Objectives in Negotiation 4.Ensure that your own preferred strategy is followed during all the preliminary stages and when you face your opponent across the table.

How you wish to approach the negotiation Sequence in which you wish to pursue the various points What you will do if you are diverted from your preferred approach How you will handle the difficulties which will be raised The concessions you have to offer The concessions you will be seeking Who on your team will do what and when

Key Objectives in Negotiation (cont)

5. Ensure that you must seek to achieve:

All of the your Needs Most of the your Wants Some of the your Desires

During negotiation:

Needs are usually fixed The worst position to which I am

willing to be pushed and which I will accept. Wants may shift as negotiation progresses The position which I believe to represent a reasonable expression of my expectations from this negotiation and which I fully expect to achieve if I handle it correctly and with due skill. Desires tend to be flexible The position which I hope to achieve if everything that I have not thought of falls in my favour

Self Assessment Personal Negotiation Skills

How did you rate yourself on the following successful traits of a negotiator? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Planning skills Verbal ability Ability to think under stress Practical or street intelligence Personal integrity Knowledge of yourself Ability to perceive and exploit power

Negotiation Activity
A conflict I am currently experiencing: If I were to sit down with the other party for a negotiation, guidelines I would want to agree to are: My Interests Other Partys Interests

My BATNA:

My Min/Max Position
My best estimate of the other partys min/max position My negotiation strategy will be:

Evaluation of Negotiation Skills

Technique Used 1. Perception 2. Handling Emotion 3. Communication 4. Planning Skills 5. Ability to think under stress 6. Verbal Ability 7. Practical Intelligence (street wise or world wise) 8. Personal Integrity 9. Knowledge of yourself 10. Ability to perceive and project power Recommendations: Yes No Reason