How to Develop Negotiating Skills

Anyone can learn negotiation skills and apply their own unique negotiation style to achieve a successful objective. You can develop some basic negotiating skills by following these steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Plan ahead. Successful negotiations are seldom automatic. The most important part of successful negotiation is taking the time to examine the situation and think about your plan. This applies to whether you are negotiating a business deal or travel plans with your family.

2. Consider an extensive range of options and outcomes as opposed to demanding a certain result. Successful negotiators are open to ideas and avoid locking themselves in to one outcome. They are inclined to consider multiple possibilities and options.

3. Look for common alliance rather than areas of disagreement. Acknowledging the areas where you and the other party are in agreement communicates an attitude of cooperation and decreases feelings of resistance.

4. Discuss the important issues in order of precedence. Successful negotiators have a broad understanding of some of the key issues and which are the most important. Address the issues from most important to least important. Reaching an agreement on the most important issues makes the least important issues easier to resolve.

5. Find out, as soon as possible, what the other side needs to be happy. You already know what you need to make the deal work for you. Research the other side, talk to people in the know and listen carefully throughout the negotiations until you discover what the other side needs to feel as it it has won. Then make sure they get it or, at the very least, think they got it. Have creative alternatives ready if you can't give them what they want.

6. Be prepared to compromise. Go into the negotiation with a list of things you are willing to sacrifice to reach an agreement. Know what you absolutely must come away with to make the deal work for you.

7. Avoid undesirable behavior. This involves having an intimidating or aggressive demeanor, sarcasm, using adverse body language or speaking loudly. Skilled negotiators avoid these types of behavior and work hard at communicating an attitude of kindness, friendliness, cooperation, reasonableness and candor.

Tips & Warnings

• Attend a negotiation skills training seminar to learn advanced styles and techniques in negotiating.