Negotiation - Preparation - Part Two

Analyse the “outcomes”

Have you set effective objectives for your negotiation before entering into it? This doesn’t mean – “I’ll achieve this or else there’s nor deal”. It’s about setting “best-possible”, “fall-back” and “minimum-achievement” objectives. These provide a framework within which you can operate when negotiating Although it’s an inexact science, take some time to consider what the other party’s range of objectives might be. And, then you can assess the likely areas where your needs might meet; together with possible areas of disagreement, debate or problem Finally, try and consider what the other party thinks you want. Their perceptions of your needs might be quite different from the actuality. Again, it’s a useful area to assess as best you can Are you ready to trust?

If you feel you can’t trust the other party then a negotiation is extremely difficult. Equally, they have to feel the same about you. If trust doesn’t exist, there is a danger that suspicion, manipulation and the like take over. You need to guard against this Are you ready to listen?

The problem with listening is that, a lot of the time, you are actually listening to yourself! You are carrying out an inner dialogue about your feelings; trying to work out what to say next and the like. And, whilst you’re doing that, you are certainly not fully listening to the other party to your negotiation Taking this further, powerful “listening” isn’t simply about hearing and understanding what is said. It’s as much – if not more – about the way the words are said. By focusing on truly listening, you will be in a position to pick up on facial expressions, body positioning and movements, and tones and inflections of the voice. In this way, you build up a more-complete picture of the communication How true are you prepared to be?

Trust was mentioned on the previous page as a key to effective negotiation. Once this has been established, it becomes much easier to work together to achieve the win-win solution. With such a scenario you can ask more informed questions, give and gain honest answers – and genuinely work together to establish both areas of agreement, and those where work still needs to be done to achieve a mutually-acceptable position Effective negotiations are much more likely to be carried out in a supportive environment – rather than a confrontational one - Concluded in part three 1

Negotiation - Preparation - Part Two - To learn more about this author, visit Gordon Veniard's Website.

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