NEGOTIATION

NEGOTIATION

1. What is negotiation?

   • Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties intended to reach an understanding, resolve points of difference, to gain advantage for an individual or collective, or to craft outcomes (compromise) to satisfy various interests.

2. Why do you negotiate?

   • The point of negotiation is to try to reach agreements (bargaining) without causing future barriers to communications.

3. How do you negotiate?

   • Preparation
     • Before any negotiation takes place, a decision needs to be taken as to when and where a meeting will take place to discuss the problem and who will attend. Setting a limited time-scale can also be helpful to prevent the disagreement continuing.
   • Discussion
     • During this stage, individuals or members of each side put forward the case as they see it, i.e. their understanding of the situation.
   • Clarification of goals
     • From the discussion, the goals, interests and viewpoints of both sides of the disagreement need to be clarified.
   • Negotiate towards a Win-Win outcome
     • This stage focuses on what is termed a 'win-win' outcome where both sides feel they have gained something positive through the process of negotiation and both sides feel their point of view has been taken into consideration.
   • Agreement
     • Agreement can be achieved once understanding of both sides’ viewpoints and interests have been considered.
   • Implementation of a course of action
     • From the agreement, a course of action has to be implemented to carry through the decision.