| Improving
Negotiation Skills
By
Philip Zimmerman
MAY 2005
- Although negotiation is a basic skill, practiced almost
daily in all walks of life, very few have studied it. Last
year, the CityBar Center for Continuing Legal Education and
ALI-ABA sponsored a program, “Negotiation: Bargaining
for Better Results,” conducted by Charles B. Craver,
a professor of law at George Washington University Law School.
Craver’s
insights included: “You don’t get what you deserve,
you get what you negotiate for”; “The negotiator
who has the most confidence usually perseveres”; and
“If you are an impatient negotiator, you will not
do as well as you could otherwise.” His tips to improve
negotiation skills include the following:
-
To be a good negotiator, you have to work at it.
-
If you are willing to walk away, you usually make a good
deal.
-
When you negotiate, you need to know when to start, when
to stop, and your bottom line.
-
Charge for things the other party wants even if they do
not matter to you.
-
Puffery and embellishment are acceptable, but lying about
what is essential ends trust and the hope of any future
successful negotiation.
-
If the other party respects you, they will try harder
to agree with you.
-
The other party will walk away from negotiating if an
offer is so unreasonable that someone else may offer a
better alternative.
-
Know your “best alternative to a negotiated settlement”
(BATNA).
-
Be aware of nonverbal communication, such as body language
and significant changes in behavior.
For
those who would like to learn more about negotiation, I
recommend Craver’s book, The Intelligent Negotiator:
What to Say, What to Do, How to Get What You Want—Every
Time (Prima/Crown, 2002).
Philip
Zimmerman, CPA, is an arbitrator and mediator on
the American Arbitration Association’s panels and in
private practice. His website is www.mediatorpz.com. |