NEGOTIATION SKILLS: PRINCIPLES, PRACTICE AND PROCESS

CHARLES COTTER

PROTEA HOTEL FIRE AND ICE, MELROSE ARCH

29-30 AUGUST 2016

TRAINING PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

• Demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical aspects regarding negotiation

• Identify the characteristics and key skills of effective negotiators

• Determine and differentiate between the negotiation styles

• Apply different negotiation strategies

• Differentiate between the types of negotiation – positional and integrative bargaining

• Apply the core elements of the 4-phase negotiation process

• Article Review: Best practice negotiation techniques

• Integrated, Role Play activity (negotiation exercise)

INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY• Individual activity:

• Complete the following statement by inserting one word only. In order to reach a mutually-beneficial (win-win) negotiated agreement, I need to/to be………………………………………………………..

• Jot this word down and find other learners who have written down the same word.

• Write this word down on the flip-chart.

• Each learner will have the opportunity to elaborate on their choice of word.

FUNDAMENTALS OF NEGOTIATION

• Defining negotiation

• Characteristics of effective negotiators

• Key skills of negotiators

• Negotiation styles

• Negotiation strategies

DEFINING NEGOTIATION• Negotiation is a process centered on a discussion that is intended to produce an

agreement.

• In its simplest form, it could be considered to be about power. More than just about money, it involves issues of ego, leveraging, saving face, and being right. It can appear that the negotiator or team with the most power will triumph over a weaker team or win something important.

• In current business practices, however, negotiation often leads to compromises, where both sides make concessions to get as close as they can to exactly what they want. Other times, no concessions are available and a power struggle can go on for a long time.

• When negotiation is not effective, there are other options, such as bringing in a mediator, which can help both sides speak to one another and move towards a resolution instead of walking away and resolving nothing.

THE VALUE OF CONSTRUCTIVE NEGOTIATION

NEGOTIATION SKILLS

PERSUASION & INFLUENCE (ARISTOTLE’S RHETORICAL TRIANGLE)

DALE CARNEGIE’S – “HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE” PRINCIPLES

THE FIVE (5) COMPETENCIES OF EQ

TRUST - COVEY’S EMOTIONAL BANK ACCOUNT

COVEY’S WIN-WIN MINDSET

JOHARI’S WINDOW

TRUST ENHANCING STRATEGIES FOR NEGOTIATORS

• Open and transparent communication

• Mutual respect and tolerance for individual differences

• Demonstrated care and sincere interest

• Recognition for the value of each individual team member

• Co-operation and shared commitment

BUILDING CREDIBILITY AS A NEGOTIATOR

• The Credibility Formula: Credibility = Integrity + Expertise.

• Achieving a distinguishable level of counterpart faith and loyalty is certainly not an overnight occurrence and can be achieved only through openness; committed people investment and a proven scorecard of leadership and performance excellence.

• Negotiator behaviour, actions and decisions congruent with reliability, fairness, consistency and transparency are instrumental values which can enhance counterpart perception of the negotiator’s reputation, standing and eventually, their willingness and receptivity to influence and support of proposals

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE NEGOTIATION

• Allow for Creative Flexibility

• Prepare

• Know the Role of Value – Creating and Claiming Value

• Understand Negotiating Styles – Co-operative vs. Competitive negotiators

• Manage the Process

• Handle Relationships

• Learn

• Word about Experience – “Experience is your best negotiation tutor.”

NEGOTIATION STYLE AND –SKILLS QUIZ/TEST

• Individual activity (during training intervention):

• Complete the online quiz (7 responses): www.quibblo.com/quiz/9CYtS6X/Negotiation-Style

• Identify your preferred (dominant) negotiation style and the appropriateness thereof

• Individual activity (post training intervention):

• Complete the online Negotiation Skills test (76 questions): www.queendom.com/tests/access-page/index.htm?idRegTest=3094 – (scientifically validated)

• Identify negotiation skills gaps and recommend improvement strategies

NEGOTIATION STRATEGIES

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1• Group discussion:

Think about the most recent workplace negotiation situation you found yourself in. Briefly describe the situation.

Were you cooperative or competitive?

How effective were you in your approach? Were you satisfied with the outcome? Was your partner? What would you do differently next time? Identify the characteristics and skills of an effective negotiator

TYPES OF NEGOTIATION

• Integrative/Distributive

• Inductive/Deductive/Mixed

• Soft/Hard/Principled

• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

• Non-Negotiable Positions/Options

CONSOLIDATORY GROUP DISCUSSION

• Critically review the different types of negotiation. Given your scope of negotiation, identify the most appropriate type. Justify your response.

• Review the comparative analysis (table) of positional bargaining and integrative bargaining. Given your scope of negotiation, identify the most appropriate type. Justify your response.

NEGOTIATION OCD

• Negotiation OBSESSIVE CONTROL DISORDER (OCD)

• Avoid being a “Control Freak”

• Guard against trying to “hijack”/capture the negotiation process

• Guard against trying to “micro-manage” the negotiation process – “Be conceptual and not critical.”

• Guard against being hyper-competitive – rather collaborate

• Avoid being aggressive

BEING ASSERTIVE AS A NEGOTIATOR

MEASURING YOUR ASSERTIVENESS AS A NEGOTIATOR

• Do you have difficulty accepting constructive criticism?

• Do you have trouble voicing a difference of opinion with others?

• Do people tend to feel alienated by your communication style when you do disagree with them?

• Do you feel attacked when someone has an opinion different from your own?

• Do you find yourself saying ‘yes’ to requests that you should really say ‘no’ to, just to avoid disappointing people?

ASSERTIVENESS STRATEGIES• Be Firm and Decisive - Say No if You Have To

• Ask For What You Want - Matter of Factly

• Achieve Your Goals

• Constructively Resolve Conflict

• Believe in Yourself

• Be Interested In the People Around You

NEGOTIATION PROCESS

PRIMARY NEGOTIATION OBJECTIVE

PHASES OF NEGOTIATION

PHASE 1: PREPARATION• Preparatory points to consider

• Key to preparation – setting ground rules and other guidelines etc.

• Identifying your Hot Buttons • Doing Research

• Identifying Your Walk Away Position (WAP)

• Identifying Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)

• Working within the Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA)

PREPARATORY POINTS TO CONSIDER

• Goals

• Trades

• Alternatives

• Relationships

• Expected outcomes

• Consequences

• Power

• Possible solutions

KEY TO PREPARATION – 10 GUIDELINES/RULES FOR NEGOTIATORS

• #1: All parties must agree on ground rules and guidelines.

• #2: Expect that negotiating will take much more time than you think, and build that into your plan – contingency planning and -management

• #3: When it comes to wording ground rules and agreements/contracts, check and double-check language – be vigilant with quality assurance and due diligence.

• #4: Establish who the true decision makers are, and make your choices clear – be decisive and consistent, especially with the power brokers and deal-makers

• #5: Humour is helpful. Do not take yourself too seriously, and take responsibility to lighten the mood of the room once in a while –

KEY TO PREPARATION – GUIDELINES FOR NEGOTIATORS

• #6: Apply flexibility and adaptability to the process.

• #7: Build strategic alliances.

• #8: Set yourself up to learn.

• #9: Be a people person – develop and demonstrate interpersonal competencies, emotional and social intelligence

• #10: Use collaboration to preserve relationships and build trust – be hard on the problem (negotiated issue) and soft on the person

IDENTIFYING HOT BUTTONS

DOING YOUR RESEARCH

• When doing research and preparing for negotiations, there are 3 important considerations:

Collecting facts

Knowing priorities

Knowing principles

WORKING WITHIN THE ZONE OF POSSIBLE AGREEMENT (ZOPA)

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2 • Group discussion:

• Identify a typical negotiation scenario in your working environment. By referring to step 1 of the negotiation process, apply the best practice negotiation principles to this workplace situation. Ensure that you focus on the following key points:

Preparatory points to consider

Ground rules

Hot Buttons

Doing Research

WAP

BATNA

ZOPA

STEP 2: EXCHANGING INFORMATION

STEP 2: EXCHANGING INFORMATION – KEY ACTIONS

• This is not a step that many negotiators consider consciously, except perhaps in legal situations (where it is referred to as disclosure), but it makes sense, even in negotiations at home, and, certainly, in the workplace.

• Exchanging information is really an extension of preparation, and allows both parties the opportunity to consider all of the available information before a bargaining meeting takes place.

• The strength of these answers could put you in a much

stronger bargaining position when you present your ideas to the boss.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3 • Group discussion:

• By referring to step 2 of the negotiation process, apply the best practice negotiation principles to this workplace situation. Ensure that you focus on the following key points:

What information is held in common to both negotiating parties?

What information you will disclose?

What information you would prefer the other negotiating party to disclose?

STEP 3: BARGAINING

• Responding to Challenges

• Creating win-win solutions

PARENT-ADULT-CHILD (PAC) MODEL

RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES

• Ways to Stay Calm

• Detach Yourself from the Outcome

• Include Pre-determined Break Times in Your Rules

• Depersonalize the Process

• Work with the Other Party, Not Against Them

• Unspoken Conversations

• Don’t Bring Your Baggage to the Table

• Avoid Power Struggles

• Stay Focused

• Focus on a Positive Process

THE 4-STEP CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROCESS – THERAPEUTIC MODEL FOR NEGOTIATORS

• Step 1: Identify sources of potential and actual conflict (DIAGNOSIS)

• Step 2: Develop conflict resolution strategies/techniques (EXAMINATION)

• Step 3: Apply conflict resolution strategies/techniques (REMEDY)

• Step 4: Control and review the effectiveness of the conflict resolution strategy/technique (FOLLOW-UP)

CONFLICT RESOLUTION STYLES

• Shark (Competing)

• Turtle (Avoiding)

• Fox (Compromising)

• Teddy-bear (Accommodating)

• Owl (Collaborating)

CONFLICT RESOLUTION STYLES FOR NEGOTIATORS

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES – TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR NEGOTIATORS

CREATING WIN-WIN SOLUTIONS

• Keeping an Open Mind

• Long Term and Short Term Relationships

• Use Your Resources (Experts, Mediators and Third Parties)

• Meta-Negotiation

• Identify Common Ground

• Making the Most of Brainstorming

• Thinking outside the Box

DE BONO’S SIX THINKING HATS

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4 • Group discussion:

• Refer to the preceding learning activities. By referring to step 3 of the negotiation process, apply the best practice negotiation principles to this workplace situation. Ensure that you focus on the following key points:

Responding to challenges

Creating win-win solutions

STEP 4: COMMITMENT AND CLOSING

• Once the parties have completed bargaining, made all the adjustments, and agreed upon the least uncomfortable result, the negotiation is ready for commitment and closure.

• Developing a Sustainable Agreement

What is a Sustainable Agreement?

Getting everyone’s Perspective

Reviewing the Information

Outlining the Options

Gaining Consensus

DEFINING A SUSTAINABLE AGREEMENT

• A sustainable agreement can be said to reflect the reality of the business i.e. the reality of business and economic cycles, industries, and real issues that people face.

• It must also reflect the multiple aspects of the stakeholders who both provide input, and are affected by the results.

• In developing a sustainable agreement, the partners must ensure that:

#1: The organizations that they negotiate on behalf of are interested in having an agreement #2: The negotiating organizations will enforce and take part in the terms of that agreement.

• If the agreement cannot stand on its own, and the parties who sign it refuse to use it, then the paper it is printed on is useless.

• An agreement also cannot focus on one aspect of the business when the business impacts other industries, cultures, or linguistic groups.

SUSTAINABLE AGREEMENTS – THE 3 P’S

REACHING CONSENSUS

REACHING CONSENSUS• Before an agreement is signed, it is important to have consensus for agreement among the

parties.

• Consensus can be difficult during tough negotiations; generally, the more stakeholders taking part in the process, the more difficult it is to reach consensus.

• Persuasion, that ability to have people recognize the value in what we are saying, is an exceptionally valuable communication skill for a negotiator.

• One way to secure commitment is to ask the other party to summarize their understanding of the agreement, and to get it in writing. To clarify, it can help to ask them three questions:

Please explain what we have agreed to.

Do you agree with what we have agreed to?

Are you committed to carry out the agreement? If not, what factors need to be clarified?

LEARNING ACTIVITY 5 • Group discussion:

• Refer to the preceding learning activities. By referring to step 4 of the negotiation process, apply the best practice negotiation principles to a current workplace situation. Ensure that you consider the following key points:

Reaching Consensus

Developing a sustainable agreement

LEARNING ACTIVITY 6

• Group discussion:

• Critically review and evaluate the 13 negotiation techniques from the article (John Rampton), in terms of viability and sustainability.

• Identify and prioritize the most effective techniques. Substantiate your reasoning.

INTEGRATED ROLE PLAY EXERCISE

• Refer to Learning Activity 7

• The facilitator will provide you with detailed learning instructions.

• Objective: Apply what you’ve learnt the past two days about negotiation to reach a mutually beneficial (win-win) agreement.

DE-BRIEFING OF ROLE PLAY EXERCISE

• Discuss the (simulated) negotiation process that you followed. Was it effective in reaching a win-win agreement?

• What were some of the lessons learned from this (simulated) negotiation role play exercise?

• Will you approach future negotiations differently?

CONCLUSION

• Key points

• Summary

• Questions

CONTACT DETAILS

• Charles Cotter

• (+27) 84 562 9446

• charlescot@polka.co.za

• LinkedIn

• Twitter: Charles_Cotter

• http://www.slideshare.net/CharlesCotter