Negotiation Skills Training Seminars

With over twenty-five years of proven industry experience, the Negotiations Training Institute of America is the recognized leader in negotiations training, consulting and performance coaching. Through public open enrollment seminars and private on-session training sessions, we have helped leading corporations, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies improve their ability to negotiate better outcomes for their constituencies. First-time negotiators as well as those with the greatest competitive drive and amount of first-hand experience and negotiations wisdom can benefit from our time-tested seminars. Whether focusing on negotiating a contract with a vendor or jumping in to the often-stressful car buying process to deal with a dealership, our classes provide useful skills, proven techniques and various classroom role plays to help you become more aware of negotiations that you must face on a daily basis.

For more information on our negotiation skills training seminars please contact us.

Negotiations Seminar: Asking Questions To Help Uncover Goals

When you sit down to a negotiating table remember to ask lots of questions as this helps both parties uncover the other's wants, needs and goals. Asking questions also leads the parties to better understand the feelings and styles of the other party. Additionally, questions help clarify the statements a party makes to the other and shows their understanding of the issues in the negotiations. Moreover, asking questions allows you to move the negotiation in the direction you want it to go in.

First, effectively asking questions is one of the most important skills a negotiator has. This is partly so because asking questions skillfully helps both parties uncover the other's wants, needs and goals. It is necessary for each party to at least have an idea of the negotiating goals of the other party so the thing given will be what the negotiator wants.

If a person sits at the table and asks for something that is not attainable the other person has no choice but to say, "No, you are not going to get that." But if the person knows the counter-party's wants, needs and goals the person can at least offer some concession, some compromise that will effectively meet the needs of the counter-party. Suppose a woman is asking for a raise at her job. If the supervisor has many people working under her management she may know little of the person asking for the raise. However, if after a little conversation and some well-aimed questions the manager may say no to the raise, but offer to let the woman get off earlier so she can pick up her child form day care. Here the thing initially sought, the raise, was not attainable, yet getting off early was something the woman needed and could, therefore, be an effective compromise solution in this negotiation.

Second, asking questions also leads the parties to better understand the feelings and styles of the other party. It may have been outrageous for the manager to suggest that the woman asking for a raise get off early. After all, that could mean less hours and therefore less pay, not more. If the woman needed the money or she would not be able to feed her family the suggestion of more time off could be a deal killer. The woman would that night be on the phone trying to find another job. A costly mistake for the manager. Ask questions and actively listen. Try to dig deeper than the surface answer given so as to understand the feelings of the other party.

Thirdly, questions help clarify the statements a party makes to the other and shows their understanding of the issues in the negotiations. Asking what a person means is often the best way to learn why they said what they said, not just what they said. If your counter-party does not understand why you are negotiating with them it could be difficult to get what you want. When the other person does not understand the issue and the effects of it you will have a hard time moving them to your way of thinking.

Fourth, asking questions allows you to direct the negotiations along the path you want them to take. Asking your questions makes the counter-party think about your side of the issue, even if in disagreement. If your arguments are reason-based and you have prepared your negotiation efforts you can make a compelling case that the person should do as you want. Correct reasoning will not always win the day, but it frequently will. Most people will listen to you, even if they do not want to change, if you can persuade their version of the issue is error and you are basing your version of verifiable facts.