Top Five Tips for Negotiating in English
Life is a compromise. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But, when we talk about negotiations, nothing should ever be a won or lost, it should have been decided upon long before you ever make it into the meeting room. Here are my top five negotiation tips:
[checklist icon=”check” iconcolor=”light” circle=”yes”]- Be prepared to concede something: If you walk into a negotiation thinking that you cannot concede anything then the whole meeting is futile. If you need something from the other party then they will need something from you too.
- Preparation, preparation, preparation: Research and make sure you understand what it is the other party wants. If you do not know make an educated guess because there is nothing worse than making a decision on the spot without time to think about it and consider the ramifications.
- Walk away if necessary: By their nature, negotiations and supposed to be mutually beneficial and with this in mind always be prepared to walk away if you think it is not beneficial enough for you.
- Shut up and listen: Conflicts can be easily solved by simply listening to what the other party say. Try to follow the 70/30 rule and listen 70{87f0c958c74bd471c016e24ed0ca91171b02792da1fdb790bb16580321fb9170} of the time and encourage conversation by asking open ended questions.
- Do not hurry: The side who is more flexible ultimately has the upper hand. If you can wait out a negotiation it shows that you are not under pressure to conclude the deal.
Most importantly always remember that each negotiation and each person is different.
