3. What experienced negotiator must do.

After having a negotiating training the negotiator must do:

• gain an insight into his\her readiness for negotiation;

• know the rules for preparing and holding negotiations;

• specify the negotiation goal;

• structure negotiations;

• make analysis of the main parts of the negotiation;

• divide attitudes and interests;

• make short and long negotiations;

• find mutually beneficial decisions;

• form necessary merits for a successful negotiation;

• administrate negotiations;

• avoid situations that arouse distrust;

• form an image of the opponent;

• make complements correctly;

• make constructive criticism and be ready to respond to criticism;

• know the principles of interaction with people in difficult situations;

• achieve initiative in relations;

• hold strong principles and manipulate negotiations;

• know methods to realize a hidden agenda in negotiations;

• resist the negative methods of the opponent;

• use and resist psychological tricks;

• use the tactic of counter-bargaining and the principle methods used in negotiations;

• choose different strategies to hold negotiations;

• discern the opponent’s strategy and be able to oppose it;

• know different negotiation tactics;

• deny accusations;

• answer the critic correctly.

Lecture 2. Negotiations

The main points of the lecture.

1. An essentially longitudinal model: conflict – negotiating objectives – proposals --- tactics – outcomes.

2. Interpretations and intentions of the parties. The parties may conclude an agreement in principle "unaware that their interpretations of the implicit parts of the bargain are in conflict", and "one party may deliberately violate what it knows the second party thought was mutually understood".

3. Agreement – No-agreement. Agreement is not essential. Possible outcomes are of three types: agreement, no-agreement, further negotiations.

4. Goals in negotiating process. Setting a goal is an extremely important part of the process. The best way to set a goal is to start off with a particular negotiation in mind.

5. Some statistical facts about a strategic negotiation process made by Brian J. Dietmeyer and Rob Kaplan.

Seminar 2

Articles for discussion.

1. The art of negotiation

I want to get better at negotiations, but where to start? Phased by the glut of information, I went within and remembered the wise teachings from a senior manager in my early working life. So, come closer, listen up, because he was very wise indeed.

He said "Do you know your LIMits?"

"My what? said I cautiously, wondering if he was asking about my drinking capacity, driving speed or something equally off the wall.

Being worldlier than I, he noticed my confusion and helped me out.

"Lyndsay, if you want to be successful in life, you need to know your LIMits. Let me explain. What would you Like to have? What do you Intend to have? What Must you have? What are your LIMit's?"

Slowly it dawned on me that he was talking the strange management language of mnemonics. He wrote down the word for me like this. L – I – M – I – T – S

And next to the letters he wrote

L - like to have: your number 1, top of the pile, best outcome I - intend to have: your realistic, shoot for the stars but reach the moon outcome M - must have: your bottom line. Deal is off if this is not met.

(The I,T and S are irrelevant, just convenient additions to prevent asking what your LIM are!)

Testing the Theory

And so ended his lesson. Off I scampered like the eager young graduate I was, itching to put this into practice. Thinking about a possible secondment opportunity I wrote the following:

Like - 10% bonus, new laptop, mentoring with new senior manager Intend - 5% bonus, attendance at special course, return to new job after secondment Must - same pay, relocation expenses paid, credit in my appraisal

The final deal I struck landed somewhere between Like and Intend, with a few perks I had not even considered, so I felt it was a success.

Why Negotiation Works

There are a couple of reasons why simple models are useful but often forgotten. The LIMits negotiation model encourages flexible thinking in that there are 3 potential good outcomes. Compare this with the most common alternative – success or failure – and you can see there is only one good outcome. You don’t have to be a gambling pro to work out which approach is best! The secret of the LIMits model is if you don’t meet all the criteria for success, then the opposite is not failure, just a different outcome.

The other benefit of using the LIMits negotiation model is it forces you to prepare, gaining you vital spare capacity when you are in the thick of the negotiation. You will be clear about your position and better able to get that across.

Information overload.

As I demonstrated, simple models are forgotten because we seek out newer, shinier ideas in books, the internet or from other sources. Reduce information overload by reusing what you already know or recycling an old idea into one that works today. Old knowledge is not always redundant.

So, negotiate that new job, better deal or contract. All you need is to know your LIMits.

By Lyndsay Swinton, an experienced team leader, people manager and business coach.