Negotiation Skills

Managing expectations at the negotiation table can be a challenge, especially when our counterparts ideas and our own are far apart. But what happens when it’s our own expectations of other people’s behaviors we have to manage? We had a question around this topic recently.

Q: There have been a few times recently when I felt … Learn More About This Program

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) president Peter Maurer views negotiation as integral to the ICRC’s mission of providing humanitarian aid to people in international conflict zones. A former Swiss minister of foreign affairs and ambassador to the United Nations, Maurer is the ICRC’s chief negotiator and promotes the development of negotiation skills within … Learn More About This Program

Q: I’ve pitched many great ideas for change to my organization, but management never takes action on any of them. Even when my organization specifically requests ideas for new products or processes, it’s always a colleague’s idea that gets chosen over mine. Negotiators are good at persuasion. Do you have any tips to increase my … Learn More About This Program

It’s not unusual to find ourselves in difficult ethical situations, whether in negotiations or in our daily lives. While there’s rarely an easy answer, shifting our mindset can help open up the possible solutions and give us more insight into the issue. We received a question about just such a dilemma. … Learn More About This Program

Negotiation theory suggests you focus on interests, not positions; separate inventing from committing; invest heavily in “What if?” questions; insist on objective criteria; and try to build nearly self-enforcing agreements.

But what if the negotiation is with yourself, or about your own religious identity?

For example, what does it mean to be Jewish in America? What challenges … Learn More About This Program

We recently had a question about some common negotiation mistakes people make while they’re still preparing for a negotiation. Kessely Hong, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and the Faculty Chair of the MPA Programs and the Mid-Career MPA Summer Program at the Harvard Kennedy School, took time to discuss these mistakes and steps we can … Learn More About This Program

Business disputes don’t have to be antagonistic. Nor does litigation need to be the go-to method of solving conflicts. Thoughtful negotiation can often often result in an amicable solution. To see the difference between two different conflict resolution styles, take a look at two real-life copyright cases in the music industry.

Imagine that you’re an up-and-coming … Learn More About This Program

When we desperately want a desired outcome that only one person or group can provide, we are often tempted to try to wear them down with persuasion, pleas, and even threats. Yet, the risk is clear: Push too hard, and we risk causing offense and ending the conversation.

As U.S. President Joe Biden took office in … Learn More About This Program

As a format for complex deals, email negotiation has a bad reputation. Negotiators are more likely to deceive one another when using email, and they have trouble building trust and rapport in email messages. Furthermore, some research has found that negotiators achieve less joint gain and are less satisfied with their outcomes when negotiating over … Learn More About This Program

A common question around negotiation dialogue is how to elicit information from a counterpart. Here’s one such question from a reader:

I’ve been told that learning information about my counterparts—their preferences, fears, goals, strengths, and weaknesses—is critical for success in negotiation. I need to understand what others care about to be able to trade for issues … Learn More About This Program