Introduction to Negotiation Skills

‘Negotiation skills’ are a must for anyone to succeed when dealing with people.  Negotiation is a discussion between two parties to find out the solution and for the purpose of reaching a joint agreement about differing needs or opinions.  It involves using the art of ‘persuasion’ to get others to understand and agree with your viewpoint. It works best when an individual has a win-win attitude.  The key skills that are involved in a successful negotiation are that of good communication skills, sales and marketing skills, good psychological analytical skills, sociology skills, assertiveness and conflict resolution skills. Therefore, negotiations may take place between various kinds of different people such as between a customer and seller, a boss and employee, two business partners, a diplomat or a civil servant and a foreign diplomat, between spouses, between friends and between parents and children.

No two people are exactly same. Therefore, each and every individual thinks and behaves differently in different situations and has different needs, wants, beliefs and aims. It is this basic difference between people that gives rise to disagreement and conflict from time-to-time.  Moreover, to mutually co-exist with each other at personal, professional as well as business level, it is important that these conflicts and disagreements should be resolved.  

One of the best practices that you can follow for an effective and successful negotiation is to always have a ‘face-to-face’ negotiation. Try your best and avoid negotiating over the phone or email. Negotiating in person helps you to understand the other person better by watching out for his body language, facial expressions, vocal intonation, and other cues that can help you negotiate better by getting an insight into what the other person is thinking.  There are various styles of negotiation that a person can use in different situations. It is important to keep in mind that there is no one right style of negotiation, rather, the right style would depend on the situation, people, options and differences that you would find while negotiating.