1. Introduction
Everybody negotiate, everyday. When buying something in the market. When deciding who is doing what. Actually, people do that even when they do not think themselves as doing so.
Negotiations do not always imply business, but also normal life’s situations, and they are carried out by everybody. Negotiations are a fundamental part of our life so it is important to understand how is possible to conduct an effective negotiation.
Setting up an effective negotiation is a difficult process. Being an effective negotiator implies behaving in certain ways, before, during and also after a negotiation. In this report there is a brief explanation of the most important behaviours.
2. Before: plan the negotiation
The planning phase is important, it gives the opportunity to prepare the negotiation, coming up with a plan and not doing the negotiation blindfolded.
First of all, it is important to know all the relevant information involved in the negotiation. This includes doing some research about the topic of the negotiation, and getting to know the rules and constrictions that each part of the process have to respect (their company’s rules, financial setbacks, etc…).
Decide a clear purpose of the meeting, and a schedule to follow, although there is no need to be extremely precise.
Other important elements of the pre-meeting to decide are the goal of the meeting, which is the most desirable outcome. This is the wanted target, but if in the negotiation this is not reachable, it would be better to have a range of alternatives to choose from. More than a list, a range works better because it gives you more alternatives (Rackham, 1980). How to develop these alternatives depends on the situation, sometimes doing a brainstorming session with colleagues may help.
It is also advisable to be prepared for the worse. Have a bottom line, the worst possible outcome acceptable, and a BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement). Having a BATNA allows you to choose an alternative if the agreement is not favourable anymore. The more appealing a BATNA is to you, the more powerful you will be in your negotiation, because the agreement will be seen as something that is important to achieve, but not necessary.
3. First phase: build rapport
This paragraph is about the first general rule about human relationships: build rapport. The first approach to a person should be warm and welcoming, although serious and adapt to the context of the negotiation. Building the right climate is important, because it will be part of the negotiation, and people form their impressions considering everything, also the overall situation. The climate should be cordial, and this implies being polite and well-mannered, introducing each other at the beginning. It is important to be collaborative, the purpose of the meeting should be reach an agreement, and this can be done only if there is collaboration between interested parts. All this should be done in a brisk and business-like environment. Therefore a serious environment, with the needed facilities, and a table to seat down, where the two or more people can face each other. The whole meeting should proceed with a comfortable pace, staying focused and without wasting time. This does not mean that pauses are not allowed, sometimes breaks are necessary and best advisable.
The main scope of the introductory phase is, as previously mentioned, build rapport. For having a good rapport it is important to build a common ground, a ground for common interests, common views, common objectives. The importance of this is because having a common ground means having a safe place, having topics on which the discussion can move if the negotiation process becomes too hot. Playing on the common ground means that you are sharing something with the other part from which both can benefit, and this usually decreases the defensive attitude.
4. During the negotiation
Focusing on the reason why people have got together, in the negotiation it is obviously necessary to concentrate on the negotiation, but we have to bear in mind that this is a potentially dangerous area. The negotiation will take the most of the time but as I said before, it is advisable sometimes to leave space to comments on common ground or areas on which you share the same vision. This shift the climate to a neutral position and detaching from the negotiation can help to relax.
Continuing to speak about climate, the effective negotiator need to be able to maintain the right climate. Absolutely no insults or unfavourable judgements about the other part, better if there are no judgements at all. The other part needs to feel listened so the negotiator need to listen and understand what the other part is saying. Every proposal should be taken into account, and here there is the danger of counterproposals. It is sometimes natural to immediately offer a counterproposal, but these can be perceived as obstruction or disagreement and, however, counterproposals are offered when the other part is usually more concerned about his own proposal than listening to other ones (Rackham, 1980).
In a good rapport and in the right climate there is a sense of trust and agreement between each other, and it is important to give trust to the other part, but proceed independent of trust. In other words, it is better to avoid to depend on other people’s words, because words can be deceiving. Moreover, it is convenient to stress agreement, and the best way to express it is emphasizing it when a compromise on a point is reached.
Negotiation seen as resolution of conflicts can be, as said before, difficult ground. Staying objective is essential at this point. Do not be involved too much in the conflict and be careful of unpleasant reactions, the focus on the interests will be lost and the negotiation will transform into a fight. Breaks, like the overused coffee-break, during the meeting are useful because they help to maintain this detachment and relax the atmosphere when necessary.
Focusing on the negotiation, keeping the right climate and avoiding unpleasant reactions. All these points mean that the negotiator has to keep the control of the negotiation process, not being controlled by it. Clarity is important, the effective negotiator speaks to be understood, not using jargon or any term the other part may not understand, and makes sure that he understand what the other is saying. A considerable amount of time is spent summarizing and asking questions when the matter is not clear.
Having the control of the process also means control where this process is headed. In order to have a situation in which both parts are winners, the effective negotiator has to explore everybody’s interests and reach an agreement considering both long-term and short-term achievements. Particularly, long-term goals are possible if there is true agreement and nobody feel threatened, and they should be present in a good negotiation. As soon as goals are decided, actions are decided accordingly and with the consensus of both, and the negotiation ends. A successful negotiation will provide a short and simple action plan and parts will not have any problem in putting it into action.
Lastly, a certain grade of flexibility is necessary when conducting negotiation. As previously said, it is good practice to have a plan, but it is not good practice to stick to it literally. Flexibility is also helpful when trying to see from other’s point of view, and this helps to find the common interests and, consequently, the agreement.
5. Conclusion
In conclusion, the behaviours that characterize the highly effective negotiator are several, and most of them are simple to explain, but sometimes difficult to use in the situation. A good negotiation practice starts before any dialogue, with a good planning phase. In this phase, research on the topic and research on the other contractor are both excellent practices, because they give you ideas of the playing ground. As regards your tactics, having a purpose, a schedule and range of options that are acceptable surely clarify which is your position. Having alternatives if the negotiation turns to be unfavourable makes you more powerful in this process.
In the negotiation there are several stages, and the first stage is about building rapport. Introducing to each other and building a common ground is essential. Establishing the right climate, and maintaining it, helps a lot, it gives support to the whole process so it can proceed smoothly. Maintaining the control of the situation is also essential, no emotional outbursts for example, no jargon or exceedingly difficult discourses, and ask questions when there is something not clear. An effective negotiation is seen as a mutual gain so inventing options to maximize it is a good point. Being flexible allows a broader approach to the subject and in inventing options, and not to forget that dealing with long-term cooperations is usually easier.
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