Planning and Preparation for Effective Negotiation

Planning and Preparation for Effective Negotiation

1. Negotiation Analysis: Know the Situation, Yourself, and Your Opponent

   • Analyze the negotiation structure and components
     • 1. Identify the negotiation parties
     • 2. Define the issues
     • 3.nderstand the underlying interests
     • 4.Consider alternatives
     • 5. Create a scoring system and sort out preferences
   • Analyze the negotiation context: Opportunities and constraints
     • 1. Assess the historical, political, legal, and cultural context in which negotiations take place
     • 2. Assess the purpose of the negotiation
     • 3. Assess the nature of the conflict
     • 4.Assess the temporality of the negotiation
     • 5. Assess external constraints:
     • 6.Assess external constraints
     • 7.Assess external constraints

2. Negotiations take place in a wide array of forms, whether to resolve a dispute, get a better deal, or find new solutions that neither party could realize on their own.

   • The first, and often the most important step toward successful negotiation is planning and preparation. According to Thompson (2009), about 80% of negotiators’ efforts should go toward the preparation stage

3. However, planning and preparation go beyond what negotiators should do before negotiation. Because negotiation is a dynamic communication process where new information, concerns, emotions, and goals may arise, negotiators should also be prepared for dealing with contingencies as well as factors that may interfere with goal pursuit

4. Although most planning and preparation takes place prior to the negotiation, they should be considered as an ongoing process that continues throughout the negotiation. Due to various constraints, negotiators may not be able to gather sufficient information about the other party before the negotiation; even if they think they do, new information may still arise that requires their prompt adjustment and adaptation. In some situations, negotiation parties may change in the middle of the negotiation, new issues may emerge, coalitions may form, BATNAs may improve or deteriorate, relationships may develop, and the overall context of the situation may change as well