Overview
The ability to be able to negotiate effectively is a critical competency in both work and life situations.  An effective negotiator will draw upon a range of communication and interpersonal skills as well as focusing on issues of the process, planning and objective setting.
 
Typically, negotiations occur at both the individual and team level internally within peer groups and with employees as well as externally with suppliers and customers. Closely associated with the negotiation process is the possibility of disagreement and dispute conflict; so it is appropriate to consider how best to reduce the risk of disputes and how to resolve then if they do occur.
 
This course will cover they key stages of negotiation, consider how disputes and provide the delegates with an effective toolbox of skills to enable them to follow a structured process. They delegates will be introduced to different negotiation styles and tactics and learn how to recognise and counter them. There will be an opportunity for delgates to carry out a self assessment of their own skills over the whole range of the negotiation topic and they will consider the differences between negotiating individually or as part of a team. The programme culminates in a realistic dispute resolution case study and the delegates are encouraged to reach an agreement before the forces of law intervene in the dispute. 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This module will be best suited to those who have a fundamental ability in negotiating but want to increase their formal knowledge and enhance their practical skills.   The course is aimed at staff at all levels, including Directors and Senior Managers. It is applicable to staff from a wide range of business disciplines including engineering, design, project management, production, finance, sales & marketing, business development, purchasing, procurement, commercial and general management. Those who will benefit most will have a current or planned interface with internal “suppliers or customers” or external suppliers or customers through which contracts are negotiated. 

UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE SEMINAR
This programme is unique because it approaches the subject from the perspective of avoiding the dispute by understanding the causes of disputes and reducing the probability of their occurrence. It will provide the delegates with the skills to carry out difficult negotiations and show them how to adopt the style of the mediator to reduce tensions. The skills taught are equally applicable in a commercial contractual dispute or an industrial relations dispute

10 REASONS YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS THIS SEMINAR
You will:

• gain the skills to identify the causes of disputes
• learn how to avoid some disputes
• learn that negotiation is a 4 phased structured process
• learn to set your BATNA; MDO & LAA – before you negotiate
• acquire the skills to carry out complex and difficult negotiations – one to one
• acquire the additional skills to lead complex and difficult negotiations in teams
• get the chance to analyse your own skills
• learn how to move into the mediator role during a negotiation
• learn how to read the body language of the other side
• practice the skills gained in a realistic simulation of a dispute resolution negotiation

Programme Contents
Day 1 - Programme introduction

• Fundamentals of negotiation  
• Negotiation defined
• Disputes and the need for resolution
• Place of negotiation in the contractual resolution process
• Commercial impact of the breakdown of negotiations
• Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)
• The four phase process of negotiation
• Preparation
• Discussion
• Proposal
• Bargain & Close

 
Day 2 - The negotiator’s toolbox  

• Preparation
• Preparation
• Negotiating position setting
• Prioritisation
• Entry & exit points
• Information needs
• Team negotiation - roles
• Discussion
• Conducive environment
• Relationship building
• Information acquisition
• Forms of questions - open, closed, comparative
• Proposal
• The conditional proposal - “If/then…”
• Unconditional proposals – “ Thank & Bank”
• Degrees of freedom
• Bargain and close
• Trading up and Trading down
• Concessions
• Recording the outcome

 
Day 3 - Negotiating styles, tactics and ploys  

• Cultural & international issues
• Red, Purple & Blue negotiators
• Non-verbal communication
• Interpretation of Signals – arms, legs and eyes
• What is in a handshake?
• Spatial zones and spatial awareness
• Make time your friend
• Silence as a tactic and how to counter it
• Ploys as “power plays” and how to counter

 
Day 4 - Personal fitness and dealing with difficult negotiations  

• Interests, positions and escalation
• Push/pull
• Good guy/bad guy
• Negotiator as a Mediator
• Team negotiations
• Proposals and persuasion
• What’s In It For Me (the WIIFM solution)
• Personal skills fitness check

 
Day 5 - Putting it all into practice  

• Negotiation case study
• Team allocation and simulation exercise
• Analysis of performance
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Negotiating
• Improving what we do – action planning