So I was given a wide variety of options to choose from , I worked on the options and finally picked up " negotiation skills training" , for these reasons
1. It was on a (THANK GOD) friday !!
2.I liked the name of the instructor which is Maya !
3.It was held in some place away from my normal working place
4.And it is a one day training unlike others which lasted for 2 days
So , the training day came ,I was reluctant to go , I was very sure that I'm going to sleep .And , I hate these classes where instructor asks us to do some stupid activities and make us go to end of our wits. However I feel , I have to attend this class , else my manager will kill me .
I entered the class, some of my colleagues were already there and in total twelve people were there. Instructor Maya was there already she greeted me ,such a warm smile . She started of with introduction and such stuff. Then of course comes the first lesson which is "definition of Negotiation" . I started scribbling something in the handouts she gave me , but surprisingly I found the class quite interesting , May be it was because It was all about how to make successful negotiations and we all were keeping our managers in mind and imagined ourselves winning the deal..oh ! It was such a wonderful feeling !! :D So that thought brought the whole class together !! Everyone were active and there was whole lot of zeal !!
I wished to share some of the very good points that came up in the training , so here I am
Negotiation is a process of
1. Getting things done
2.Action oriented doing process
3.Influencing behaviour
4.A changing relationship
The main aim of this whole class of course , is to learn a better way to get things done , and achieving a WIN-WIN situation, without affecting the existing relationship (My manager in mind again !! :D).Many people , No matter how familiar they are with the subject , there are still pitfalls and perils when negotiating with an individual or a group of people , like
1. difficult questions which we struggle to answer
2. forgetting what to say
3.Losing the attention of counterparts
4.Not capturing interest in first place :( (worst thing to happen )
when there is a problem there is also a solution , so lets move on to the solution and Negotiation TACTICS . The solution is simple " THE THREE Ps "
1.Prepare
2.Practise
3.Participate
Do as much as you can before the event and don't be a bystander , should get involved , say your piece, argue your point and make a difference . Often seeing the problem from a different angle helps a lot .
There were many movie buff s in the class , they brought up some best quotes from movies.. The class was going great , Then someone in the class started talking about THE GOD FATHER's ways, oops!! there are no "ways" only one " way"
"Make him and offer which he can't refuse " (plz dont try this !!)
Then came the best part , negotiation tactics , Im putting few points which i liked the most
* Give the impression you have more information than you actually do
*Skilled negotiators think carefully before reacting , sometimes doing nothing is the most appropriate response
*state your offer on a clear 'take it or leave it' basis
*send two demands , pressurise other party to accept one
*Purposefully misunderstand : deliberately misinterpret the other party and behave as if misinterpretation was fact
*re-open previoulsy settled issues (this gives you some time in the whole process)
*Use humor : lighten up the situation . Usually best to makes jokes against yourself
*Remember to smile
We were made to give counter tactics for the above tactics, That was the last session of the training . Finally we were given certificates (the main reason to attend this training ). It was not so bad after all , turned out to be a fruitful day :D .And I walked back to office for continuing my work ,even though I was very tired after attending this whole day training , as I cant negotiate with my team lead :D . But I made up my mind to use the lessons learnt someday :)
