I was intrigued when I read this blog from the Harvard Program on Negotiation entitled “Top 10 Negotiation Skills You Must Learn to Succeed.” I concur with the items, but not necessarily order. Having been on over 2,500 mediations and negotiations, I am offering you some personal insights to assist you and give you some things to think about to become an even better negotiator.
The top 10 negotiations skills- Harvard Program on Negotiation
These are the top 10 negotiation skills offered by the Harvard Program on Negotiation:
- Analyze and cultivate your BATNA
- Negotiate the process
- Build rapport
- Listen actively
- Ask good questions
- Search for smart tradeoffs
- Be aware of anchor bias
- Present multiple equivalent simultaneous offers
- Try a contingent contract
- Plan for the implementation stage
By reordering these ideas slightly and offering additional commentary beyond the blog, this author will hopefully provide additional commentary to help you be an even better negotiator.
1.Negotiate the process
What are the facts? What are the issues? What is the emotion associated with each issue? What are the interests of the various stakeholders? These are key elements in negotiation. Each party has its perception of the facts, and those perceptions drive the issues. Exploring your and their perception of the facts will help identify the problems, which ones you both agree on, and which issues should be addressed in what order. This will help drive the process when these elements can at least be identified to determine the process.
2. Build rapport
Taking the time to learn as much as possible about the other party and looking for common values can address the emotional issues far more positively. Learn all you can online (LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, their web page, and other sources) and from associates and other contacts. Try to find ways to build a connecting, authentic relationship. This can help overcome negative stereotypes and help each side realize that the other side is not the devil incarnate but another person looking out for their interests. Then, it may be possible to work together to address interests later.
3. Listen actively
Listening actively means to use your emotional intelligence to remain calm and listen to them for at least ten minutes. Professor Daniel Shapiro, from Harvard, offers a concise commentary with his video on How to Argue. When listening actively, you continually ask yourself, “What else should I be asking”? Consider taking notes. Paraphrase what you think you heard. Summarize key points. Ask open-ended questions, not yes-no questions. Empathize with them with where they come from. Find common ground on things you agree on. How can we work together to address both of our concerns?
4. Ask good questions
With active listening, it is suggested to ask open-ended questions. The key is to ask questions that may lead in a given direction or help explore areas you need to know more about to understand their perspective further. What else don’t you know? What are assumptions you have made that may bias your viewpoint? Keep an open mind. Be inquisitive, concerned, and creative as you explore further.
5. Search for smart tradeoffs
Find out the most significant concerns from the other party's perspective. Are there other stakeholders that may be impacted by upper management, peers, shareholders, clients or customers, vendors, or other stakeholders? Explore not beliefs but shared values. Often, closure is a key element. Consider other variables such as timing, quality, quantity, future impacts, or other elements that may not appear obvious.
6. Be aware of anchor bias
Take this a step further than when making the first offer, and instead consider all bias by both parties. How diverse and representative is the data you are relying on? How transparent have you been? Could you be more transparent in building trust and asking them to reciprocate? Have you explained things clearly and ensured they understood you? What about hindsight bias based on what has happened in the past? Do you or do they have any blind spots? You have data based on availability, but might there be other data to explore? Have you only looked at information that will confirm your perspective? Are you making decisions about you and your counterpart based on character or personality? Might you or they be over or underconfident in their abilities? Explore anchor bias and any other bias that may impact decision-making.
7. Analyze and cultivate your BATNA
BATNA is your best alternative to a negotiated agreement. Take time to determine what it is as a bottom line: if you don’t at least meet your BATNA, you will walk away. Then consider your position, their position, your BATNA, and at least two or three other computations that you have made ahead of time so that you can enter the negotiation with 5 or 6 alternatives. This will allow you to use your alternative position outright or tweak it a little to see if the other party may be willing to accept one of your counterproposals.
8. and 9. Present multiple equivalent offers simultaneously (MESOs) and Try a contingent contract
For each of these comments, see the article. My experience with these is limited; they are rarely used, but there is very good commentary on each.
10. Plan for the implementation stage
When you have reached an agreement or believe you have reached an agreement, take the time to write it down with who will do what and when. If elements cannot be met in the future, identify a process, for example, mediation or arbitration, to address how to proceed if both parties agree to disagree. Set up the process for success, but also address what happens if something happens and one party cannot meet their requirements.
Offering a number 4B. That is, educate judiciously. Educate the other party the way they want to be educated. Once you have developed a rapport and listened actively, you will know more and can reassess how you may be approaching the other party. For example, 70% of learners are visual. Might there be visual ways to demonstrate facts further? Consider what, how, when, where, and who you present your perspective to and how you may want to change that approach based on what you learned after 2, 3, and 4 above.
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