7 Elements Of Effective Negotiation

[Priamo Gregory]

Manypeople dread negotiation, not recognizing that they negotiate on a regular, even daily basis. Most of us face formal negotiations throughout our personal and professional lives: discussing the terms of a job offer with a recruiter, haggling over the price of a new car, hammering out a contract with a supplier.

Then there are the more informal, less obvious negotiations we take part in daily: persuading a toddler to eat his peas, working out a conflict with a coworker, or convincing a client to accept a late delivery.

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Unfortunately, most people are not natural-born negotiators. The good news is that research consistently shows that most people can significantly improve their negotiation skills through education, preparation, and practice.

Members of the Harvard Negotiation Project developed a framework to help people prepare more effectively for negotiation. The Seven Elements framework describes the essential tools needed to identify our goals, prepare effectively to minimize surprises, and take advantage of opportunities as they arise in negotiation, writes Patton in The Handbook of Dispute Resolution.

The parties, representing a Middle Eastern beverage distributor and a multinational beverage company, respectively, exchanged pleasantries, and then got down to business. Could they negotiate a contract in less than an hour?

Curhan explained how to prepare for a negotiation, sharing a framework developed at the MIT-Harvard Program on Negotiation. He emphasized that the framework is not a sequential set of procedures, but rather a set of elements to consider when preparing for a negotiation. Here, the seven key factors to consider:

Prior to any negotiation, develop a list of objective criteria for determining a solution to the problem. For instance, if you are selling your house, think about all the different ways to determine the value of the home, such as assessed value, comparables, and proximity to good schools.

Ask yourself if you are negotiating with someone you will interact with a lot in the future or someone you will never see again. What is the cultural background of the person you may be negotiating with? What are their norms and expectations?

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Negotiation, as a fundamental aspect of daily life in various forms, holds significant importance in various domains such as e-commerce, collaborative design, interpersonal relationships, and workplace dynamics.

With academic experiences inspired by Professor Jasper Kim and real-world practice, this article aims to support the elements for effective negotiation to enhance readers' understanding and mastery of this critical skill.

Understand the types of negotiators: Understanding the types of negotiators helps you to find your negotiation style and adapt it to the specific negotiation setting. This understanding allows you not only to tailor your approach, communication style, and strategies to the preferences of the other party but also to increase the likelihood of a successful negotiation outcome. A good negotiator knows the importance of certain types of negotiators and knows when to compromise when to be assertive, and when to collaborate. Determine your BATNA: Before getting into any negotiation, it is crucial to determine your Best Alternative and the Zone of Possible Agreement. Finding your BATNA will help you to set your bottom line or walk away point, providing you with a solid fallback position. However, it is important to remember that the other party may likely have their BATNA on the table as well. In negotiation, it is always advised to strive for a positive ZOPA (full form) in which both parties can potentially reach an agreement that satisfies their interests. Know the parties involved: Before entering the negotiation process, it is always recommended to conduct thorough research and gather information or knowledge about the other parties involved including their background, their role in the negotiation, their interests, and their negotiation styles. Knowing the parties involved in the negotiation might significantly impact the outcome as we will be able to anticipate their priorities, values, and preferred strategies. Sometimes the involved parties might not necessarily have direct conflicts of interest, but their respective institutional frameworks and inter-party interactions can shape their perceptions of the negotiation process. Communication: Preparing the types of communication will also affect the impression you make during the negotiation process. Communication can start from certain types including verbal, nonverbal, written, listening, or visual communication. These types of communication require specific skills and tactics to effectively convey your message, build rapport, and understand the other party's perspective. Identify the main issues to negotiate: Getting to the point in negotiation is where you stand firm to your point and what you need to succeed to bring off the table. Having your main issues clearly identified and prioritized will help you stay focused during the negotiation, avoid getting sidetracked by fewer minor issues or getting lost, and work well towards achieving your BATNA. Read the room: Be flexible with the negotiation environment and stay focused on the situation and overall nonverbal cues that can provide valuable insights into the other party's intentions, emotions, and level of engagement. Know when to compromise or hold firm: Influential negotiations appear when the negotiator can strike a balance between flexibility and steadfastness. If your goal is to maintain a positive relationship, it may be necessary to decide whether a compromise is beneficial for a mutually beneficial agreement. If it is a one-off negotiation that gets tense and hostile while your purpose is greater than the relationship, it may be necessary to hold firm and protect your interests.

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Different types of negotiations require different tactics: Negotiating the price of a car is different from negotiating the terms of a multi-million-dollar acquisition, not only in terms of overall value and importance, but also with regard to the number of parties and stakeholders involved. You negotiate differently depending on whether it is for yourself or on behalf of another party, or between co-workers, loved ones, or strangers; not surprisingly, the emotions vary depending on what is at stake. Other factors affecting the choice of tactics and likelihood of successful outcomes include: culture of the parties, time available, suspected length of the relationship and previous experience between the parties.

In difficult situations it may be worth enlisting the help of an external expert or adviser who can help facilitate the negotiation and reduce conflict or provide expert advice to help the parties reach a satisfactory decision or resolution.

The concept of persuasion, as an ongoing social process of discovery, preparation and dialogue. Persuasion is part art, part science: the art is establishing and sustaining trust; the science is collecting and analyzing information and understanding human behavior.

2. Establish credibility: Demonstrate expertise about your agenda by sharing knowledge, reliable data, clear explanations, non-defensive responses to challenges, and building trust by exploring ideas together and showing commitment to their interests.

4. Support preferred outcomes with real and accurate data: Data should be in multiple forms such as a frame for common ground, and demonstrate tangible benefits. Do not make things up or you are more likely to lose credibility when the truth is discovered.

Master negotiators do not just influence decision-making: they analyze who else will influence how decisions will be made. They also build effective networks of alliances, including broad alliances based on shared interests and long-standing relationships, and short-term temporary alliances that pursue narrow, focused objectives.

Having defined your influence goals and motivations for the negotiation, you can craft an effective alliance-building strategy by identifying key decision makers; clarifying the decision making process; assessing winning and blocking coalitions; mapping networks of who influences decision-makers; and assessing support and opposition.

Mapping your influence network allows you to visualize the types of networks and relationships you need to build and leverage to attain your goal, for example by being seen to reach out to adversaries and using empathy to understand their point of view.

Organizations should create and maintain a culture of openness, align organizational systems and offer conflict management and negotiation training for individuals and teams. Leaders should be effective role models for teamwork and constructive feedback by involving employees in decisions that affect them.

Despite your best efforts, conflicts and disputes can still arise. If you cannot prevent them, apply your effective persuasion and negotiation skills. If all else fails, consider involving a third party (e.g. a mediator, trust catalyst or consultant). The costly legal route should only be used as a very last resort.

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