subject: Negotiate Your Way [print this page] You are not born with the skill of negotiation you have to learn it. Negotiation is not a skill that you use once in a while in your life, it is the way to get what you want. Maybe you do not know it, but you negotiate with you family members, your coworkers, on the street,...
If you want to be successful in negotiation you must be prepared. Without preparation your are likely to fail your attempt at getting what you want. Preparation does not just mean reading all the possible books on the subject. You have to know and understand the person who you are negotiating with. First of all you must know yourself what are you weaknesses and your strengths and use them in your advantage.
Usually we are negotiating to gain something. Whenever you ask your boss for a raise or try to get a better computer you are negotiating. Marriage is a life long negotiation. You are negotiating with the person in line in the supermarket to let you pass if you are in a hurry. On a larger scale basis negotiation happens between world nations all the time.
There are a set of skills which you need to learn if you wish to be successful negotiator. These are the same skills CEO, business people use on a daily basis to sign contracts for big deals. Here is the list of skills:
1. Preparation
Know the person you are negotiating with his weaknesses, his strengths, know which buttons to push. First you have to know yourself in order to be successful.
2. Set limits and goals
Know what you want. Set a goal to achieve. Set a limit under which you wont go. Stick to these limits and goals not matter what.
3. Listen
Be a good listener. You can gain much by listening to another person.
4. Communicate
You must be able to express what you want clearly. Confidence is the key. If you have to practice your speech in advance.
5. When to stop
If this go out of hand you must know when to stop in order to maintain good relationship with the person.
6. Close a deal
Sometimes there is a difficult person stopping you to close the deal, when other members are in agreement on all the important issues. Be ready for that.
