Negotiation Skills

Description of module

PREPARATION PHASE = BEING ABLE TO PREDICT

Know Your Self

• “how to get from the door to the table”
• “why could I loose the contract”
• “where could I mess up” 

Know Your Business Partner

• Gender Issues
• Religious Issues
• Issues of Culture (power lunches, off-courses)
• Hierarchy (background information)

Know Your Products

• Skills of Description and Paraphrase
• Talking about Figures and Charts
• Talking about your Company’s Vision

SMALL TALK PHASE = SIZING-UP YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER

Handling small talk the right way:

different concept and function according to partner’s culture

(e.g. Swedes, Germans: a waste of time BUT Americans, Asians: a rite)

Using Psychology and emotional intelligence:

• establishing sympathy, appreciation and acceptance
• adaptation to partner = equality process
• cultural sensitivity as objective and not perfect language competence

Non-verbal Communication:

eye-contact, smile, physical contact, way you sit at the table, greetings  (problem of hierarchy), exchange of business cards

NEGOTIATION PHASE = STRATEGIES, STYLES & DISGUISE 

Bargaining: where is it acceptable and allowed

Negotiation Stereotypes:

• Americans (aggressive, chaotic, “promising what you can deliver”)
• British/ Asians (“beating around the bush”, shady, understatement and  ambiguity)
• Germans (direct, objective, no false promises)

Voice-Training:  tone, pitch and speed 

Negotiation Strategies and Speech Acts:

how do you open up, how do you convince, superlatives, making  suggestions, contradictions, interrupting and countering interruptions,  taking over, putting through arguments, inventing arguments, agreeing  and disagreeing, questioning, expressing doubts, pausing for time and  not losing face, calming someone, giving assurance, how to deal with  emotions, postponing, concluding

Different Roles and Disguises:

good cop – bad cop; devil’s advocate, naïve person, wolf, white knight  in shining armour

SCHEDULE (EXAMPLE)

2 WEEKENDS (32 LESSONS)

Times Friday 13.00 – 18.00/19.00 o’clock, Saturday 09.00 – 18.00 o’clock