Category Archives: Negotiation

Overcoming an Impasse in Negotiation

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When negotiating agreements in business or trying to resolve disputes you will frequently reach a point in the negotiation where you hit a wall. Progress grinds to a halt, neither side is willing to budge, and frustration mounts. You may doubt whether you will ever reach an agreement. What can you do to break the deadlock?

In many negotiations, most progress occurs in the final stages. Recognize that an impasse is common and does not mean that an agreement is beyond reach. Accept it as a normal part of negotiation that can and will be overcome. By applying the techniques discussed below, you can increase your chances of overcoming an impasse and reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.

- Focus on your interests, and help your counterpart focus on his. It is natural to lose sight of what is important and get distracted by minor issues in the heat of a negotiation. Refocusing on your interests and priorities can help you get the negotiation back on track.

- Look for new and creative ways to add value. Explore options that have been overlooked. As a negotiation proceeds you learn new information and gain new insights which may suggest other possible solutions that had not been apparent earlier.

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Seven Qualities of a Win-Win Negotiator

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Most business people approach a negotiation hoping for a win-win agreement. But even with the best of intentions, they usually fall into the same win-lose patterns that characterize most negotiations.

What qualities do win-win negotiators possess? How are they able to consistently achieve win-win outcomes? Cultivating these seven qualities will improve your chances of negotiating win-win agreements.

Engage in joint problem solving

Most of us are conditioned to see a negotiation as a chance to win or lose. As such, we do what we can to win as much as we can, and the other side does the same. This competitive mindset leads to win-lose or partial win results.

Win-win negotiators, however, approach a negotiation as an opportunity for joint problem solving. Instead of seeing two parties each trying for their own win, they look at a negotiation as a single problem they must solve together for mutual benefit. They believe two heads are better than one.

Understand your interests and prioritize them so you stay focused on what is important to you. Know what you must have and what you would like to get from the negotiation before you begin. Have a list of other items you are willing to exchange.

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Dodge Being Icky To Negotiate Successfully

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Are you icky when you negotiate? When negotiating, the icky factor is not only a turnoff, but it can also be the death knell of the negotiation.

With a U.S. Congressman being perceived as being icky, as the result of recently getting caught in a spectacle that was made worse by the manner in which he addressed the situation, the question becomes, what makes one appear to be icky?

If you wish to avoid the perception of being icky in your negotiations, observe the following four insights.

Actions That Give The Appearance Of Being Icky:

Each negotiation situation is different from another. Thus, a myriad of factors can come into play, when attempting to isolate the icky factor. Nevertheless, there are constants involved in a negotiation that dictate what icky appears to be and what it feels like. Avoiding a direct question, especially when it’s posed several times, can heighten someone’s senses and enhance the impression that you’re not being forthright, which can lead to the thought that you’re icky. Another icky factor can be the way you speak. If you speak too fast or too slowly to someone that’s attuned to listening at a different pace, you can conjure up the image of one that’s ‘out of step’. Such actions can also create the impression that you’re evasive and thus, icky.

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Negotiation Secrets Resolve Conflicts

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What skills do you employ when trying to resolve conflicts? The answer should be, the same skills you use when negotiating.

Conflict resolution is a subset of negotiation and thus, the better you are at negotiating, the better you’ll be at resolving conflicts. The information that follows gives insight into how you can enhance your negotiation and conflict resolution efforts.

1. Listening:

a. In any negotiation, when attempting to resolve conflicts, really understand the other person’s perspective and assess the basis for the conflict.

b. Consider the source of the other person’s motivation that stimulates his beliefs, thoughts, and desires for the outcome he’s striving to achieve. Seek to understand his perspective at an intellectual and emotional level. Ask open-ended questions (i.e. questions that require more than a yes or no response) to solicit insight as to why he holds such beliefs to be valid.

c. Ascertain who and/or what the source of his beliefs, thoughts, and desires are that’s generating the outcome he seeks. If you determine that there’s a vast conflict between the position you hold and his, cite sources from references that he believes to be credible, in an attempt to sway his viewpoint.

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