Barnsley Development Brief Training Negotiating Skills

Barnsley Development Brief Training Negotiating Skills Andrew Beard

Definition “confer with others in order to reach a compromise or agreement” p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Skills for successful negotiating • Awareness • Understand background • Sensitive to needs of other side • Interpret body language • Patience • Can take time to break down barriers • Communication skills • Two way process • Good listener p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Negotiating styles • Competitor • Assertive, unyielding, uncooperative • Effective in strong bargaining position • Creates tension and mistrust • If faced by one, may be best not to agree • Collaborator • Use time and energy to find common ground • Both assertive and cooperative • Good if need to maintain good relationship p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Negotiating styles (cont.) • Compromiser • Both assertive and cooperative • Willing to meet half way • Pleaser • Nice people but give way too easily • Avoider • Low in assertiveness and cooperativeness • Hope problem will go away p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Negotiating styles Competitor Collaborator Assertive Compromiser Avoider Pleaser Cooperative p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Negotiating process • Preparation • Conducting negotiation • Closing p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Preparation • Thorough knowledge of facts essential • Clarify your objectives • Identify areas for compromise • Clarify priorities • Which priorities are ideal • Which represent a realist target • Which are minimum to still achieve a ‘win’ p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Preparation • Identify variables: • Alternative options to achieve agreement • Best alternative • What if fail to agree? • Least favourable result willing to accept p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Conducting negotiations • Negotiation medium: how will you negotiate? • Meeting, telephone, email • Venue: where will negotiations take place? • Neutral territory can be helpful • Negotiations: alone or part of team? • Agree attendance in advance • Team approach (good guy/ bad guy) • Careful briefing/ rehearsal p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Conducting negotiations • Opening position • Highest position that can be defended • Set climate for collaboration • Identify areas of agreement and dispute • Listen carefully to other side • Share information that supports your arguments p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Conducting negotiations • Discussion • Listen actively, probing and asking questions • Check understanding by summarising • Look for new variables • Offer concessions conditionally • Make other party feel respected • Defer deadlocked items and move on • Use adjournments • Be aware of dirty tricks! p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Closing • Aim for ‘win-win’ • Record what has been agreed in writing • Obtain confirmation of agreement • Check no ambiguities or uncertainties • Aim for win that preserves or enhances relationship p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Discussion: How can design quality be maintained during negotiations? p l a c e s & s p a c e s

Barnsley Development Brief Training Negotiating Skills