10 Practical Steps to Polishing your Negotiation Skills to Perfection

There exist a whole lot of books and podcasts explaining negotiation strategies and tactics, but these explanations often provide only general directions, the concepts to base your actions on. It is assumed that you can devise your own methods of negotiation, taking these concepts as frameworks. Unfortunately, teaching (and learning) does not work that way. You need to get specific examples of how to behave (or not to behave) during negotiations so that you know how to do it right. For example, what does it mean to build rapport or communicate properly? Is it talking, listening, or agreeing with everything the other party says? We hope you get what we are talking about. 

This valuable information is rarely shared in books, but it can be found in other sources, and that’s what we want to share with you. 

The practical part of negotiation learning is usually provided at training and coaching sessions. So if you really need to master this art and do it fast, pick a training provider at https://cosmitto.com.au/ and start your education today. 

What to pay attention to while honing the practical skills of negotiation? There’s a list of tips to follow since they will constitute a big part of any real negotiation process. 

1. Leave adversarial thinking at the door. Start on a neutral note, this mood will help you keep calm and remain clear-minded.
2. Know why you engage in negotiations and believe in your goal firmly. You should feel that you deserve what you negotiate for – whether it’s a pay raise, a leave, or better terms of the merger and acquisition process.
3. Learn to manage yourself – emotions and words. Know what can make your blood boil and control your reactions during the talks. Keep your language polite and neutral. A careless wording or a slur can ruin everything.
4. Learn to eliminate fear from your approach. If you engage in negotiations with fear of losing, you have almost lost. You do not need to be overconfident or daring; you need to be calm about the outcome. Play in your mind the worst possible outcome, decide how you will deal with it, and tell yourself that no matter what you’ll be fine. Such a stoic approach will keep your spirits afloat during the toughest of negotiations.
5. Know the powers of people who came to negotiate with you. Yes, preparation is key. Try to find out in advance what decision-making capacities the other party has, and don’t be shy to ask directly during the negotiations who has the final word on their team.
6. Find out their interests. Namely, what their real interests are. It may take a little more work to research the time and conditions they enter negotiation in, but it pays off. If you appeal to their real interests, you can reach your negotiation goal faster.
7. Start negotiations with a high ball and see where it will take you. Like, ask for more and move to a reasonable level. That’s almost a tradition in negotiations.
8. Keep it framed as a conversation, not an argument. Do not get aggressive or rude. It can end the negotiations faster than you expect, and not with the outcome you strive for.
9. Don’t take anything as a personal insult. Yes, it’s business, and the other party may refer to dirty tactics to throw you off balance. Don’t let them do it. It’s not about you or your company; it’s about business matters only.
10. Know from the very start what you can and cannot lose in negotiations. When you have these two points sorted, you know what you can give up and what is unacceptable. In the latter case, you will just walk away from the table nicely, without wasting your time and resources. 

Remember our tips, master their implementation during trainings under the supervision of weathered negotiators, and become a pro yourself.