Negotiation Skills In Negotiation

Negotiations are part of our daily life. We negotiate at work with our coworkers, at home with our families, or in the business world when trying to get a deal. People of all ages are constantly negotiating. According to the textbook Essentials of Negotiation, negotiation is a form of decision-making in which two or more parties talk with one another in an effort to resolve their opposing interests (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2011). Regardless of who we are, our personalities and cultures have a great impact on how we interact with others and it can make a difference on winning or losing a deal.

Understanding our own personality is the first step when it comes to improving our negotiation techniques. Some people tend to be more trusting and some less trusting, some are more gullible than others, some are more confident and some less confident, some are extreme and others moderate, and some may be more likable than others (Karrass, 2010). Being a positive person and having high self-esteem has a very strong correlation

This is one of the most important sources of power in a negotiation (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2011). This step will also save you time and hassle in case the agreement is not reached. Using the example above, if you are expecting to pay no more than $20,000 for the vehicle and the dealership tells you that the best they can do is $23,000, if you have done your homework and planning ahead of time, you know that the dealership down the street might be able to get you the deal you want. If the sales agent and the dealership knows that you can go down the road to get the deal you want, it might push them to come down to your final number instead of them losing the deal. It is always a win-win situation. Another BATNA could be simply going for another vehicle or have less options on the vehicle that you are trying to