Negotiation Skills

Strategies to persuade and convince others

(2 Days/16 hours)

People have different viewpoints and trying to persuade and convince others can escalate into disputes if it isn’t done wisely. How you handle your negotiations determines whether it can become a learning opportunity or a roadblock to achieving your goals. You can deal with disagreement in many different ways, you can ignore it, blame someone for it, or try to impose your views without discussion; or you can be direct, clarify what is going on, and attempt to reach a win-win situation through common techniques like negotiation, compromise and collaboration.

This course will help you secure better deals while avoiding conflict. It will provide a structured approach to negotiations, so you can conduct them with confidence and achieve better ‘all win’ outcomes based on exploring interests and the needs of both parties.

Objectives

To give participants the confidence to enter into negotiation knowing the importance of such aspects as a win: win situation, when to be competitive and when to collaborate.

It is a very practical course, giving the delegates the opportunity to use their newly learned skills in realistic situations.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Identify the four stages of negotiation
Understand the importance of setting objectives and preparation
Recognize the difference between selling and negotiation
Successfully use variables and concessions
Maintain progress through difficult negotiations
Identify when to close the deal

Participants & Methodology

Participants

The programme is intended for supervisors managers and executives who are involved in negotiations internally and external to the organization. Strategies will be provided to assist individuals persuade and convince others with whom they are in disagreement with whether it be within the workplace, with clients or with competitors.

Training Methodology

Our training approach is highly practical and participatory. We focus on real issues and help participants to practice and use the techniques covered, rather than just discuss them.

Our training methodology is encapsulated in the phrase: “Never teach participants what they can learn for themselves.”

The course will be carried out in small groups to ensure an interactive learning environment with sufficient time to address individual needs and encourage personal development. A variety of learning methods are employed to stimulate interest and meet the differing learning styles of participants – including real projects, numerous practical examples, and group exercises. We don’t use extensive PowerPoint in our courses, preferring more interactive and engaging approaches to facilitate learning.

Course Programme

The course programme is shown as a 2-day course however is flexible enough to be delivered over a series of days or weeks to meet the needs of the clients.

	Time Day 1	Time Day 2
9:00	Welcome and intro • Objectives & Expectations • Agenda	Review and plan • Review of day 1 • Structure for day 2
9:15	• Identification and discussion of causes negotiation breakdown • Overview of the Negotiation	• Negotiation exercises: Raising the issues, communication skills, understanding and dealing with emotions
10:30	Break
11:00	• Conflict Management Styles and how varying styles will impact negotiations • Communication exercises	• Negotiation exercises: Active listening and questioning skills
12:30	Lunch
13:30	• Use and misuse of communication tools • Using Conflict resolution tools to aid in negotiations	• Negotiation exercises: Brainstorming, Options, Agreement and Closure
15:00	Break
15:30 – 17:30	• Collaborative negotiation model • Identification of the root causes of the conflict and how to overcome them in negotiations	• Negotiation exercises • Personal action plan • Evaluation of the course • Q&A – Wrap up

About the Trainer

Kevin Brown

Position

Kevin Brown has over 20 years of international experience as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) specialist, both as a practitioner/trainer and as an academic theorist. He is currently providing his services on the Roster of Experts with United Nations (UNDP)

He has gained valuable experience mediating conflicts in a wide variety of contexts, including posts within the non-profit, government, workplace, family, courts, and private sectors. His background includes earning a Masters degree in International Conflict Analysis and Management with Royal Roads University, Canada; designing ADR training programs for the Canadian government; facilitating over 4,000 hours of ADR training programs and significant experience in project leadership. In addition, Kevin has worked in negotiation and leadership support with international conflicts in Spain, Thailand, Rwanda, Georgia, Germany, Romania and Canada, and has conducted Monitoring and Evaluation interventions, as well as developed ADR training programs for a G-20 Summit.