Negotiation and Conflict Management: 5 Day Course

Please see below an outline for our Negotiation and Conflict Management course, which is available as an in-house training course for your staff. The course will be tailored to your company needs.

Introduction

Negotiations are one of the best ways to resolve conflicting interests. They combine coercion with compromise, hard bargaining with joint problem solving. Both competition and cooperation are necessary. You must strive for the best deal without creating so much resistance that you get no deal at all.

It is hard to learn how to negotiate because the principles conflict with many of our cultural values and managerial principles. When you negotiate in a competitive way, you must set aside nearly everything you have learned about fairness, empathy, problem solving, and cooperation.

Overemphasising the competitive and coercive aspects of negotiations can be equally disastrous. If you let the desire to beat the other party dominate your tactics, you may end up with no deal at all. This course will show you how to balance competition and cooperation; helping you to keep your shirt – and take away a piece of theirs as well as working on effective joint solutions to increase the value of an agreement to both parties.

Programme Objective

You will learn how to:

• Conduct principled negotiations that result in wise agreements
• Incorporate a process approach to your negotiation set
• Formulate communication strategies based on various situations
• Develop a confident negotiation style to deflect tough tactics
• Apply practical psychological principles to negotiate effectively
• Enhance your negotiation skills by applying good practices in real-world settings

Method and Approach

This programme will involve the use of slides, handout material, work manual with all instructor notes and slides, examples of best practice and appropriate video/DVD material. The use of flip-charts, syndicate workshops and reporting back sessions will encourage a fully participative and enjoyable event. Delegates will be encouraged to participate actively in relating previous work experiences.

Who Should Attend

• Anyone responsible for negotiating the best possible terms of an agreement in public and private sectors and those negotiating resources and deliverables in a project environment

Course Content

Day One:

Defining the Negotiation Environment

• The impact of culture on effective negotiation
• The range of negotiation styles and practices
• Managing an effective negotiation environment
• Differentiating win/win from win/loose
• Defining a wise agreement

The psychology of Successful Negotiation – Applying Motivation Best Practices

• Assessing the communication profile of negotiating parties
• The impact of beliefs and values
• Creating and adjusting based on SWOT analysis
• Creating Emotional Intelligence  (EI)
• Multiple Intelligence (MI) and communication filters
• Analyzing communication strengths and challenges

The psychology of Successful Negotiation – Listening Actively for Effective Negotiation

• Developing rapport
• Drafting an iterative negotiation plan
• Mapping MI and EI to improve communication
• Recognising and valuing diversity in others

Day Two

Dealing with Tough Negotiations – Common Tough Tactics

• Intimidation, games and tactics
• Countering moves of classic manipulators
• Challenging conventional wisdom on tough tactic effectiveness
• Dealing with Tough Negotiations – Common Tough Tactics

Dealing with Tough Negotiations – Principled Responses to Tough Tactics

• Negotiation tactics for effective outcomes
• Revealing unprincipled moves and motivations
• Countering the win/lose mind set
• Managing emotional pressures

Powering Up Principled Negotiation – What is Principled Negotiation?

• Elements of principled negotiation
• The 5 step negotiation process model
• Payoffs of principled negotiation

Powering Up Principled Negotiation – Standards for Principled Negotiation

• Baseline negotiation standards
• Building a wise agreement
• Efficient and ethical; negotiation approaches

Day Three:

Planning Wise Negotiation Outcomes – The Components of a Negotiation Plan

• Structuring positional analysis with the Johari window
• Clarifying potential outcomes
• Leveraging the power of BATNA/MSP
• Tailoring your situational approach

Planning Wise Negotiation Outcomes – Forming a Negotiation Preparation Plan

• Successful negotiation Planning
• Balancing plan components
• Crafting a negotiation plan
• Testing plan feasibility
• Future-proofing your plan

Planning Wise Negotiation Outcomes – Setting the Stage for Successful Negotiation

• Logistics for successful outcomes
• Anticipating logistical power plays
• Building psychological readiness
• Physical fitness for negotiation success

Day Four:

Managing the Negotiation – Conducting a Principled Negotiation

• Recognizing hidden agendas
• Making the most of start and stop signals
• Knowing when to Agree, Bargain, Control or Delay (ABCD)
• Gaining collaboration and support
• Sustaining positive momentum

Planning Wise Negotiation Outcomes – Informal and Informal Negotiation

• Distinguishing water cooler vs. boardroom strategies
• Choosing when, when not, to formalize
• Gauging the best way to close the deal

Day Five:

Applying Your Skills in an Authentic Environment – Developing Agile Strategies

• Moving from one-to-one to inter-team negotiation
• Deploying an iterative process
• Conducting matrix problem solving

Applying Your Skills in an Authentic Environment – Best Practices of Principled Negotiation

• Arriving at wise agreements
• Creating efficacy in the negotiation process
• Delivering ongoing value through positive relationships and reduced stress

Conflict Management Using Principled Negotiation

• 10 steps to handle conflict
• Identify sources of conflict
• Working through conflict

Drawing Up Your Personal Development Plan

To discuss your training requirements and how this course can work for you, please contact us.