Negotiating Skills Can Be Taught

1. The basic skills. From the array of necessary skills that enter into almost all negotiations - the purchase of a used car or a new home or the negotiation of an international trade treaty - several basics have been selected for teaching purposes.

The first is the ability to prepare a flexible scenario. One is expected to devise a set of modified, strategic plans and approaches. Since any single plan may not be effective, several must be developed and then you should get prepared to implement each. If more than one person is involved in the negotiation, the scenario must identify the appropriate role for each team member.

Then it is necessary to study the ways of overcoming selective barriers and gateways to communication. What are the assumptions about opposing teams that team members have?

2. Body language is another basic area of study. Negotiators must be aware of what their own body language communicates, what behaviours are typical of their own culture, and of the vast differences in meaning implicit in the non-verbal communications in other cultures.

Exercises in the use of voice and the need for congruence in words used and their presentation constitute another basic area of study. One must become aware of his/her own listening styles, how they filter what they hear, and where they need further study or practice.

There exist the importance of understanding the use of emotions in the negotiation process. It is emphasized that each negotiator would do well to understand his/her own emotional responses during the negotiation - in particular, those of anger and anxiety.

Finally, one must compose an ad hoc agreement at the very end of the negotiation. Being able to arrive at some agreement at the close of a negotiation is a significant and basic skill. Everyone is expected to understand the costs of time and expertise.

EXERCISE 5. Increase your skills in translating and rendering.

Translate one of the passages of the text from Russian into English in written form. Look through the text and render it in English.