Practical tips on negotiating

Preparation

1. Remember that a negotiation aims towards mutual advantage. Prepare realistic objectives and a clear strategy of concession and fallback to achieve those objectives.

2. Structure the negotiation to your advantage. Work out a procedure to be agreed with the other side.

3. Discover as much about the business culture of the other side as possible. Find out what emphasis they put on the socializing phases, what level of formality should be expected, what the typical latitude of the zone of bargaining may be and how long the negotiations are likely to take.

4. Practise and rehearse the key phrases in English which will help you to structure, propose, clarify, probe, bargain, delay, pressurize and close.

5. Establish clear roles within your team and coordinate your tactics. Rehearse the overall situation with your colleagues to identify problems and difficulties.

During the negotiations

1. Establish a positive emotional climate as soon as possible.

2. Remember that plain speaking often is valued highly. Do not be offended if an American speaker, for example, speaks very directly. There is a sharp distinction between the private and the public person.

3. Set the structure of the negotiations and establish a climate of agreement early by agreeing a procedure.

4. Define the function and the target of each session to avoid unreal expectations.

5. Follow the agreed structure and give clear signposts and signals throughout.

6. Establish a process of checking and cross-checking early on to avoid misunderstanding and confusion.

7. If something is not clear, say you do not understand or ask for clarification. No loss of face is involved.

8. Use the techniques of restatement and review to check the other side’s position or buy time to think.

9. Use polite and tentative language to avoid the impression of arrogance or insensitivity when asking for information or putting forward proposals, e.g. Could we ask how much … ? rather than How much …? or We foresee the need for … rather than We want …

10. Never say no to a proposal or idea. Present a counter-proposal or identify the positive aspects of the proposal before declining it with an apology and an expression of regret.

11. Never say something is impossible. Say it could be difficult or problematic.

12. Say yes to the person if you have to say no to the idea.

13. Whenever possible, emphasize common ground and stress the positive aspects of the dialogue. Eliminate the negative aspects by reducing them to objective problems that need to be solved in a spirit of collaboration.

Some important Don’ts

Don’t voice assumptions about the other side’s interest or positions.

Don’t become involved in a back and forward argument in which every point has to be defended and justified.

Don’t threaten the other side. Influence them instead. Help them understand your position and show how their interests may be served if they understand yours.