Discover step-by-step techniques for avoiding common business negotiation pitfalls when you download a copy of the FREE special report, Business Negotiation Strategies: How to Negotiate Better Business Deals, from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

negotiations

The following items are tagged negotiations:

Negotiation Essentials Online May 20–21 PLUS Managing Complex Negotiations June 24–25, 2026

Posted by & filed under Managing Complex Negotiations, Negotiation Essentials Online.

LIMITED TIME COMBO OFFER — SAVE $1,500: Negotiation Essentials Online (NEO) May 20–21, 2026 (Online) Instructor: Florrie Darwin PLUS Managing Complex Negotiations: Strategies for Success June 24–25, 2026 (Online) Instructor: Brian Mandell

Register Now! Accelerate your negotiation expertise by taking advantage of our special combo offer. Save $1,500 when you register for Negotiation Essentials Online and Managing Complex Negotiations: Strategies for Success. Through negotiation exercises … Read More

Managing Complex Negotiations March and June 2026 Program Guide

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

Navigating complex negotiations requires you to manage multiple parties with diverse objectives while continuously solving problems and adapting to new developments. To equip you with the skills to handle these more challenging situations, the experts at the Program on Negotiation have developed Managing Complex Negotiations: Strategies for Success. In this highly interactive, two-day program led by … Read More

Managing Complex Negotiations: Strategies for Success — June 24–25, 2026

Posted by & filed under Managing Complex Negotiations.

NEW ONLINE PROGRAM! MANAGING COMPLEX NEGOTIATIONS: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS June 24–25, 2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET

Register Now! Navigating complex negotiations requires you to manage multiple parties with diverse objectives while continuously solving problems and adapting to new developments. To equip you with the skills to handle these more challenging situations, the experts at the Program on … Read More

Negotiation Master Class Spring 2026 Program Guide

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

Over the years thousands of professionals have participated in negotiation programs at the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School. And after a few months or years of putting their negotiation skills and techniques to work, participants inevitably ask us, what’s next? … Read More

Negotiation Essentials Online — May 20–21, 2026

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Essentials Online.

NEGOTIATION ESSENTIALS ONLINE (NEO) May 20–21, 2026

Register Now! Empower yourself with proven negotiation skills, techniques, and strategies in Negotiation Essentials Online. This course features lessons distilled from PON’s flagship in-person program, Negotiation and Leadership. Prepare yourself to negotiate, manage your emotions, create and claim value, and deal with difficult conversations through real-world case studies, simulations—with dynamic video-based lessons … Read More

Effective Negotiation Preparation for an Uncertain World

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

Negotiators face an environment of change, increasing uncertainty, and accelerating disruption, driven by the growing complexity and interconnections of modern society. Financial crises, pandemics, wars, social and political movements, climate change, and the transformative innovations of artificial intelligence (AI) reveal societal shifts that are altering the norms, rules, and decision-making and planning procedures for conducting … Read More

BATNA and Other Sources of Power at the Negotiation Table

Posted by & filed under BATNA.

BATNA negotiations involve a negotiators knowledge of her best alternatives to a negotiated agreement and are one of three sources of negotiating power at the bargaining table, according to negotiation researcher Adam D. Galinsky and New York University’s Joe C. Magee. … Read More

Negotiation Essentials Online — March 3–4, 2026

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Essentials Online.

NEGOTIATION ESSENTIALS ONLINE March 3–4, 2026

Register Now! Empower yourself with proven negotiation skills, techniques, and strategies in Negotiation Essentials Online. This course features lessons distilled from PON’s flagship in-person program, Negotiation and Leadership. Prepare yourself to negotiate, manage your emotions, create and claim value, and deal with difficult conversations through real-world case studies, simulations—with dynamic video-based lessons from … Read More

Managing Complex Negotiations: Strategies for Success — March 17–18, 2026

Posted by & filed under Managing Complex Negotiations.

NEW ONLINE PROGRAM! MANAGING COMPLEX NEGOTIATIONS: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS March 17–18, 2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET

Register Now! Navigating complex negotiations requires you to manage multiple parties with diverse objectives while continuously solving problems and adapting to new developments. To equip you with the skills to handle these more challenging situations, the experts at the Program on … Read More

Make the Most of Online Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

We said goodbye to breakfast meetings, client lunches, and after-work happy hours. Goodbye to handshakes, fist bumps, and pats on the back. Goodbye to the boots-on-the-ground sales game as we knew it, and hello to Zoom calls and text messaging. To make matters even more difficult, the economy started to trend downwards—and so did the … Read Make the Most of Online Negotiations

Negotiation Essentials Online March 3–4 PLUS Managing Complex Negotiations March 17–18, 2026

Posted by & filed under Managing Complex Negotiations, Negotiation Essentials Online.

LIMITED TIME COMBO OFFER — SAVE $1,500: Negotiation Essentials Online March 3–4, 2026 (Online) Instructor: Florrie Darwin PLUS Managing Complex Negotiations: Strategies for Success March 17–18, 2026 (Online) Instructor: Florrie Darwin

Register Now! Accelerate your negotiation expertise by taking advantage of our special combo offer. Save $1,500 when you register for Negotiation Essentials Online and Managing Complex Negotiations: Strategies for Success. Through negotiation exercises and … Read More

Labor Relations: Negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Contract bargaining in labor relations is one of the most complex areas of negotiation and dispute resolution. There are rarely clear cut or mutually agreed upon notions of what a fair salary and benefits package would be, so employers and workers, either individually or collectively, often find themselves at odds. Furthermore, contract bargaining in a … Read More

How to Negotiate Your Salary and Raises

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

Salary negotiations are often stressful and challenging. But with the right strategies, you can negotiate your employment terms with ease. In Salary Negotiation: How to Negotiate Salary: Learn the Best Techniques to Help You Manage the Most Difficult Salary Negotiations and What You Need to Know When Asking for a Raise, you’ll discover innovative ways … Read How to Negotiate Your Salary and Raises

Semester Negotiation and Dispute Resolution — Spring 2026

Posted by & filed under Semester Negotiation and Dispute Resolution.

SEMESTER NEGOTIATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION – ONLINE

Course Dates: Wednesdays, beginning February 25, 2026 and ending on May 20, 2026 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET (There is no class on 4/22) Faculty: Toby Berkman and Betsy Fierman Enrollment: Register Now-Spring 2026!

Learning Objectives In this highly interactive, semester-length online course, you’ll explore the theory and practice of negotiation and … Read More

Negotiation and Leadership: Dealing with Difficult People and Problems

Posted by & filed under Negotiation and Leadership.

Negotiation and Leadership: Dealing with Difficult People and Problems THREE-DAY PROGRAM | June 8-10, 2026

At Negotiation and Leadership, you will test your beliefs and assumptions, overcome emotional and rational biases, examine complex negotiation scenarios, and discover a range of competitive and cooperative negotiation strategies. In this acclaimed program, we compress 40 years of groundbreaking research into … Read More

Negotiation and Leadership: Dealing with Difficult People and Problems

Posted by & filed under Negotiation and Leadership.

Negotiation and Leadership: Dealing with Difficult People and Problems THREE-DAY PROGRAM | May 11–13, 2026

At Negotiation and Leadership, you will test your beliefs and assumptions, overcome emotional and rational biases, examine complex negotiation scenarios, and discover a range of competitive and cooperative negotiation strategies. In this acclaimed program, we compress 40 years of groundbreaking research into … Read More

Business Crisis Management: Crisis Communication Examples and How to Use Police Negotiation Techniques

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

In this free special report negotiation experts offers advice on how to turn crisis situations into collaborative negotiations. Throughout the report, you will discover how to apply the lessons of professional hostage negotiators, avoid disasters through careful planning, diffuse tensions with angry members of the public, and break through impasse with open communication. … Read More

Negotiation and Leadership: Dealing with Difficult People and Problems

Posted by & filed under Negotiation and Leadership.

Negotiation and Leadership: Dealing with Difficult People and Problems THREE-DAY PROGRAM | March 23–25, 2026

At Negotiation and Leadership, you will test your beliefs and assumptions, overcome emotional and rational biases, examine complex negotiation scenarios, and discover a range of competitive and cooperative negotiation strategies. In this acclaimed program, we compress 40 years of groundbreaking research into … Read More

Should Women “Lean In” to Create More Value in Negotiations?

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

Back in early 2008, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg began thinking about hiring Sheryl Sandberg, a vice president at Google and a former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as the social-media company’s new chief operating officer. The two met several nights a week for almost two months to discuss … Read More

Harborco: Role-Play Simulation

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

Harborco is a consortium of development, industrial, and shipping concerns that are eager to proceed with the building of a new port, but face hurdles and potential opposition as they advance through the licensing process. The Federal Licensing Agency would like to see them work with other stakeholders to develop a project that is acceptable … Read Harborco: Role-Play Simulation

Famous Negotiations Cases – NBA and the Power of Deadlines at the Bargaining Table

Posted by & filed under Crisis Negotiations.

It’s a classic famous negotiations case. In the summer of 1988, National Basketball Association (NBA) team owners and players were at loggerheads over their new contract. At midnight on June 30, the owners declared a lockout, halting preparations for the start of the 1998–99 NBA season. The players and owners negotiated for six long months, … Read More

Interpersonal Conflict Resolution: Beyond Conflict Avoidance

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

To hear some tell it, we are experiencing an epidemic of conflict avoidance, finding new ways to walk away from conflict rather than engaging in interpersonal conflict resolution. Ghosting, for example—ending a relationship by disappearing—has become common. Numerous tech companies are being criticized for laying off people via email rather than in person. Many people … Read More

Chatbot Negotiations: What Can AI Do for You?

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Seemingly all of a sudden, chatbots like ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming ubiquitous in everyday life. These virtual conversation partners can do everything from make dinner reservations to write essays to flirt, if sometimes with unsettling results. No surprise, then, that chatbots are beginning to play a role in our … Read Chatbot Negotiations: What Can AI Do for You?

Teaching Negotiation: Understanding The Impact Of Role-Play Simulations

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

Negotiation can be challenging. And so can teaching it! At the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School, we help educators, scholars and practitioners like you learn how to more effectively teach negotiation. Notably, role-play simulations are a particularly useful way to facilitate experimentation and introduce participants to new dispute resolution tools, techniques and … Read More

New International Negotiation Simulations: Teaching International Negotiation with Current Global Dynamics

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

With the spread of a global pandemic, climate crisis, and the war on terror, resolving international conflicts has become increasingly complex. Training to address these difficult global conflicts must also reflect the modern issues and dynamics that face the international community. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) has several new international negotiation simulations that reflect … Read More

Stonewalling in Negotiations: Risks and Pitfalls

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Contract negotiations between Jason Pierre-Paul and the New York Giants demonstrate the hazards of intentionally stonewalling your counterpart in negotiations. A successful defensive end with the Giants since 2010, Pierre-Paul was renegotiating his contract after a couple of mildly disappointing seasons. The Giants’ offer of a “franchise tag” designation did not sit well with Pierre-Paul, … Read Stonewalling in Negotiations: Risks and Pitfalls

Negotiating Salary: Confronting the Gender Pay Gap

Posted by & filed under Salary Negotiations.

In December 2014, leaks of data hacked from Sony Pictures revealed that when negotiating salary for their roles in the film American Hustle, actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams came away with significantly less than their male costars in the ensemble cast. Lawrence and Adams were paid 7% of the film’s profits; Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, … Read More

Cross Cultural Communication: Translation and Negotiation

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

In previous international negotiation articles from cross cultural negotiation case studies, we have focused on how international negotiators can avoid cognitive biases and overcome cultural barriers. But how do negotiators dealing with counterparts that speak another language modify their negotiation techniques to accommodate for the lack of a common language? … Read More

Power Tactics in Negotiation: How to Gain Leverage with Stronger Parties

Posted by & filed under Crisis Negotiations.

When the other side seems to have all the power in a negotiation, what should you do? In recent years, that question has been an urgent one for many universities and libraries negotiating subscription agreements with the academic publishers that produce peer-reviewed scientific research journals. Confronted with skyrocketing pricing demands, several of these institutions have … Read More

Police Negotiation Techniques from the NYPD Crisis Negotiations Team

Posted by & filed under Crisis Negotiations.

Few negotiators can imagine negotiation scenarios more stressful than the kinds of crisis negotiations the New York City Police Department’s Hostage Negotiation Team undertake. But police negotiation techniques employed by the New York City Police Department’s Hostage Negotiations Team (HNT) in high-stakes, high-pressure crisis negotiation situations, outlined in an article from Jeff Thompson and Hugh … Read More

Conflict Resolution in the Family

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

In Lessons in Domestic Diplomacy, the New York Times’ Bruce Feiler, drawing on family conflict resolution negotiation examples in his past, offers a case study of conflict management by focusing on disputes in the home, asking, “how do we break out of negative patterns of conduct and proactively approach problems encountered in our everyday lives?” … Read Conflict Resolution in the Family

Managing Difficult Negotiators

Posted by & filed under BATNA.

In negotiation, we are often confronted with the task of dealing with difficult people—those who seem to prefer to set up roadblocks rather than break down walls, or who choose to take hardline stances rather than seeking common ground. If you’re skilled in BATNA negotiations, you’ll have an easier time dealing with such people. … Read Managing Difficult Negotiators

Asynchronous Learning: Negotiation Exercises to Keep Students Engaged Outside the Classroom

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Asynchronous role-play simulations teach valuable negotiation skills outside of a typical class format. Asynchronous learning is a term used to describe education, instruction, or learning that does not occur in the same time or place. Asynchronous learning uses resources that facilitate knowledge sharing outside the constraints of time and place among a group of people. Using … Read More

How to Solve Intercultural Conflict

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

The question of how to solve intercultural conflict is one of the most difficult ones facing negotiators. Misunderstandings and disputes caused by cultural differences can further complicate already challenging negotiations, whether you are doing business at home, abroad, or online. The following guidelines can help us achieve better results in cross-cultural communication and negotiation. … Read How to Solve Intercultural Conflict

Negotiating a Salary When Compensation Is Public

Posted by & filed under Salary Negotiations.

Faced with the prospect of negotiating a salary with a new employer, job candidates often feel anxious, confused, and tentative. Historically, organizations have tended to keep information about salaries for open positions opaque, assuming they benefit when prospective employees are in the dark about how much they might earn. But new laws and broader marketplace … Read Negotiating a Salary When Compensation Is Public

Negotiating the Good Friday Agreement

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

Retired US Senator George Mitchell played a critical role in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. In an interview with Susan Hackley, Managing Director of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, in the February 2004 Negotiation newsletter, he describes how he was able to facilitate an agreement between these long-warring parties. … Read Negotiating the Good Friday Agreement

Negotiation Logistics: Best Practices for Better Deals

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

Negotiators are often so intent on preparing for the substance of a negotiation—researching the other party, analyzing their alternatives, and so on—that they neglect to devote adequate time to critical negotiation logistics, such as where to negotiate, how formal or informal talks should be, and even the shape of the negotiating table. … Read More

Contract Negotiations and Business Communication: How to Write an Iron-Clad Contract

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

In contract negotiations, writing a contract that both encapsulates the negotiated agreement but also incorporates future elements such as the business relationship and the sustainability of the agreement can be a daunting task for even the most experienced negotiators. Executives often leave the legal issues surrounding their deals to their attorneys. While this division of … Read More

How to Negotiate in Cross-Cultural Situations

Posted by & filed under Leadership Skills.

Figuring out how to negotiate in cross-cultural situations can seem like a daunting endeavor, and for good reason. Negotiating across the cultural divide adds an entire dimension to any negotiation, introducing language barriers, differences in body language and dress, and alternative ways of expressing pleasure or displeasure with the elements of a deal. As a … Read How to Negotiate in Cross-Cultural Situations

Michael Scott, Negotiation Genius? Lessons from TV Negotiations

Posted by & filed under BATNA.

Business negotiators can get useful advice from a variety of sources, from books to blogs to training and classes—and even, as it turns out, from TV shows. As you may have noticed, negotiations frequently play out on TV: from hostage negotiators on police procedurals to fast-talking lawyers in corporate boardrooms to the real-life entrepreneurs and … Read More

Teaching the Fundamentals: The Best Introductory Negotiation Role Play Simulations

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Introductory negotiation courses are taught in law and business schools around the world, but are also increasingly taught to undergraduates and in all types of corporate settings. No matter the context, though, the basic elements of negotiation are roughly similar. Teaching interest-based negotiation, the Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA), the Best Alternative to a Negotiated … Read More

Best Negotiators in History: Nelson Mandela and His Negotiation Style

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

The late Nelson Mandela will certainly be remembered as one of the best negotiators in history. He was clearly “the greatest negotiator of the twentieth century,” wrote Harvard Law School professor and former Program on Negotiation Chairman Robert H. Mnookin in his seminal book, Bargaining with the Devil, When to Negotiate, When to Fight. … Read More

Essential Negotiation Skills: Limiting Cognitive Bias in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

In past articles, we have highlighted a variety of psychological biases that affect negotiators, many of which spring from a reliance on intuition, and may hinder integrative negotiation. Of course, negotiators are not always affected by bias; we often think systematically and clearly at the bargaining table. Most negotiators believe they are capable of distinguishing … Read More

What is Negotiation?

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Many people dread negotiation, not recognizing that they negotiate on a regular, even daily basis. Most of us face formal negotiations throughout our personal and professional lives: discussing the terms of a job offer with a recruiter, haggling over the price of a new car, hammering out a contract with a supplier. … Read What is Negotiation?

How to Negotiate Salary: 3 Winning Strategies

Posted by & filed under Salary Negotiations.

The question of how to negotiate salary seems to preoccupy negotiators more than any other—and with good reason, considering how dramatically even a small salary increase can impact our lifetime earnings. The following three salary bargaining tips from leading negotiation experts will help you gain more from your new-job negotiations. … Read How to Negotiate Salary: 3 Winning Strategies

How to Find the ZOPA in Business Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

In business negotiation, two polar-opposite errors are common: reaching agreement when it wouldn’t be wise to do so, and walking away from a mutually beneficial outcome. How can you avoid these pitfalls? Through careful preparation that includes an analysis of the zone of possible agreement, or ZOPA in business negotiations. … Read How to Find the ZOPA in Business Negotiations

What is Crisis Management in Negotiation?

Posted by & filed under Crisis Negotiations.

Organizations often establish elaborate business crisis management plans. Through a rapid, centralized response, an organization can shift swiftly and efficiently from day-to-day operations into crisis-management mode, whether that crisis involves a building evacuation, a tumble in the company’s stock price, or a product recall. … Read What is Crisis Management in Negotiation?

Win-Win Negotiation: Managing Your Counterpart’s Satisfaction

Posted by & filed under Win-Win Negotiations.

As the following points of win-win negotiation will demonstrate, ensuring that your counterpart is satisfied with a particular deal requires you to manage several aspects of the negotiation process, including his outcome expectations, his perceptions of your outcome, the comparisons he makes with others, and his overall negotiation experience itself. … Read More

Negotiation Case Studies: The Bangladesh Factory-Safety Agreements

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

We can learn a lot from negotiation case studies. On April 24, 2013 an eight-story building in Bangladesh known as Rana Plaza collapsed, killing an estimated 1,129 people, many of them low-wage garment workers who made goods for foreign companies. In the weeks after the disaster, apparel outsourcers faced mounting public pressure to address hazardous … Read More

The Door in the Face Technique: Will It Backfire?

Posted by & filed under Dispute Resolution.

Have you ever heard of the door in the face technique? In a classic and rather amusing study from 1975, Arizona State University professor Robert Cialdini and his colleagues sent research assistants around campus posing as employees of the county’s juvenile detention center. They stopped people randomly on walkways and asked them if they would … Read The Door in the Face Technique: Will It Backfire?

Conflict Styles and Bargaining Styles

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

What type of bargainer are you? Many negotiation strategies are “one size fits all,” but our unique personalities and life experiences will shape how we carry out and react to such strategies. Familiarity with popular models of conflict styles and bargaining styles can help us better understand and work with our own proclivities and … Read Conflict Styles and Bargaining Styles

The Importance of Negotiation in Business and Your Career

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

What are the essential ingredients to getting ahead in the workplace? Hard work, communication skills, and a generous dose of luck all play a role, of course. Another key ingredient—one that is often overlooked—is the ability to recognize and capitalize on opportunities to negotiate for your career success. Why is negotiation in business important? Because … Read More

High Stakes Negotiations in the Healthcare Industry

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Teach Your Students to Negotiate One of the Most Critical Global Industries With the COVID-19 pandemic devastating communities around the world, the acute importance of the healthcare industry to community welfare has become even more apparent. Healthcare is one of the biggest economies in the world, with billions of dollars spent on treatments and associated research. … Read More

Salary Negotiation: How to Ask for a Higher Salary

Posted by & filed under Salary Negotiations.

For a new employee, salary negotiation skills can be the most important and the most intimidating, but the most important, of difficult conversations to have at the beginning of your career. A new employee, successfully negotiating a salary offer up by $5,000 could make a huge difference over the course of her career. … Read More

How to Use Tradeoffs to Create Value in Your Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Win-Win Negotiations.

How do expectations of fairness and reciprocity at the bargaining table impact negotiator decisions regarding the strategies and tactics they use during bargaining? Sometimes talks get off on the wrong foot. Maybe you and your partner had a different understanding of your meeting time, or one of you makes a statement that the other misinterprets. … Read More

Perspective Taking and Empathy in Business Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

We are often counseled to engage in perspective taking and empathetic understanding to achieve better results in business negotiations, both for ourselves and for our counterparts. Yet perspective taking and empathy are two different skills. Perspective taking is a cognitive ability that involves considering how other people think. Empathy, by contrast, involves emotionally connecting with … Read More

Bargaining Power in Negotiations: Leveling the Playing Field

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Powerful negotiators can be formidable opponents. That’s in part because their bargaining power in negotiations—such as a high position in a hierarchy, wealth, or a great BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement)—gives them considerable leverage. In addition, powerful individuals tend to demand more for themselves, in violation of fairness norms. Here’s a closer look … Read More

Power in Negotiation: The Impact on Negotiators and the Negotiation Process

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

According to Dacher Keltner of the University of California at Berkeley and his colleagues, power in negotiation affects two primary neurological regulators of behavior: the behavioral approach system and the behavioral inhibition system. Powerful negotiators demonstrate “approach related” behaviors such as expressing positive moods and searching for rewards in their environment. … Read More

Camp Lemonnier: Negotiating a Lease Agreement for a Key Military Base in Africa

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Camp Lemonnier is a United States Naval Expeditionary Base located in Djibouti and is the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa. Djibouti, bordering Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, has been home to Camp Lemonnier since the September 11, 2001 attacks prompted the United States to seek a temporary … Read More

Check Out PON’s Recent Interviews with Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Negotiation and Foreign Policy

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

In May 2025, the Program on Negotiation (PON) and the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School welcomed the 70th Secretary of State and Harvard Law School Alum, Michael R. Pompeo to sit down for a series of interviews which included a public session attended by students, faculty, and guests at Harvard Law School, as … Read More

How an Authoritarian Leadership Style Blocks Effective Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Leadership Skills.

Those who favor an authoritarian leadership style, also known as an autocratic leadership style, tend to believe their approach to management is more efficient and decisive than a more collaborative leadership style. But because a top-down approach can heighten the power differential between leaders and those who report to them, it often backfires, generating resentment … Read More

How to Respond to Questions in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

What’s the toughest question you’ve ever been asked during a negotiation? Do you know how to respond to questions when they’re out of your comfort zone? If you negotiate frequently, it might be hard to narrow it down to just one. Focusing on job interviews, here are a few negotiation questions that candidates often dread. … Read How to Respond to Questions in Negotiation

The Best New Simulations

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Looking to update your curriculum with innovative new simulations? Check out these new simulations from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC). Discord at the Daily Herald – New Simulation This two-party, three-hour, multi-issue negotiation is between the co-owners of the Daily Herald newspaper over how to resolve ongoing management issues and implement structural reforms in the face … Read The Best New Simulations

How to Negotiate a Higher Salary after a Job Offer

Posted by & filed under Salary Negotiations.

If you’re wondering how to negotiate a higher salary after a job offer, congratulations: You’re aiming higher than many job candidates ever do. It’s common for prospective employees to accept whatever offer the would-be employer puts forth without negotiating for more. Unless the employer explicitly stipulates that their offers are nonnegotiable, that’s typically a mistake. … Read More

5 Win-Win Negotiation Strategies

Posted by & filed under Win-Win Negotiations.

Business negotiators understand the importance of reaching a win-win negotiation: when both sides are satisfied with their agreement, the odds of a long-lasting and successful business partnership are much higher. But concrete strategies for generating a win-win contract often seem elusive. The following five, from experts at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, … Read 5 Win-Win Negotiation Strategies

Why Negotiations Fail

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

When we think of failed business negotiations, most of us picture negotiators walking away from the table in disappointment. But that’s only one type of disappointing negotiation. Failed business negotiations also include those that parties come to regret over time and those that fall apart during implementation. The following three types of negotiation failures are … Read Why Negotiations Fail

Individual Differences in Negotiation—and How They Affect Results

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Negotiation advice is often “one size fits all,” yet we approach negotiations with vastly different experiences and traits. How do individual differences in negotiation play out? In one study, Washington University professor Hillary Anger Elfenbein and her colleagues found evidence that individual differences, including personality, accounted for an impressive 49% of the variance in negotiators’ … Read More

Negotiation Analysis: The US, Taliban, and the Bergdahl Exchange

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

The exchange between the United States and the Taliban of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, represented the first public prisoner exchange of a US soldier in the thirteen year US involvement in Afghanistan. The background of the deal including how Private First Class Bergdahl (promoted twice to Sergeant … Read More

Effective Negotiation Strategies for Dealing with Competitors

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

In the business world, organizations take competition for granted, to the extent that they often overlook opportunities to meet their goals by working with one another. But the benefits of negotiation in business can extend to our dealings with competitors. Recent high-profile negotiations highlight three effective negotiation strategies competitors can use to cooperate and compete. … Read More

Dealing with Difficult People: Coping with an Insulting Offer in Contract Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Dealing with Difficult People.

The following “Ask the Negotiation Coach” question was posed to Dwight Golann, Suffolk University Law School professor and negotiation expert: “I deal with legal disputes and would like to find reasonable solutions without wasting years in court. But my opponents seem to feel compelled to make extreme—actually, insulting—opening offers. How should I respond to these … Read More

Negotiation Skills: Building Trust in Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Trust in negotiations may develop naturally over time, but negotiators rarely have the luxury of letting nature take its course. Thus it sometimes seems easiest to play it safe with cautious deals involving few tradeoffs, few concessions, and little information sharing between parties. But avoiding risk can mean missing out on significant opportunities. For this reason, … Read More

What is Distributive Negotiation and Five Proven Strategies

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

Most negotiations call for very different, even opposing, skills: collaboration and competition. To get a great deal, we typically must work with others to find new sources of value while also competing with them to claim as much of that value for ourselves. Before mastering the intricacies of value creation in negotiation, it helps to … Read More

10 Hard-Bargaining Tactics to Watch Out for in a Negotiation

Posted by & filed under BATNA.

Some negotiators seem to believe that hard-bargaining tactics are the key to success. They resort to threats, extreme demands, and even unethical behavior to try to get the upper hand in a negotiation. In fact, negotiators who fall back on hard-bargaining strategies in negotiation are typically betraying a lack of understanding about the gains that … Read More

BATNA Examples—and What You Can Learn from Them

Posted by & filed under BATNA.

What are BATNA examples in negotiation? In their bestseller Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton (Penguin, 1991) described BATNA, or best alternative to a negotiated agreement, as the path you’ll follow if you don’t reach agreement in your current negotiation. … Read BATNA Examples—and What You Can Learn from Them

Panda Diplomacy and Business Negotiations: Applying Soft Power

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

In 2011, Emiko Okuyama, the mayor of Sendai, Japan, launched a business negotiation that, at the time, seemed relatively straightforward. Sendai had been devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan earlier that year. In hopes of lifting the spirits of children traumatized by the natural disasters, Okuyama and other local officials came up … Read More

Redevelopment Negotiation: The Challenges of Rebuilding the World Trade Center

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

In the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center more than 20 years ago in New York City, there were difficult questions and challenges facing those who were involved in the redevelopment negotiation. For instance, how do we build consensus around complex solutions when there are emotionally charged issues at stake? The Teaching Negotiation … Read More

Top Negotiation Case Studies in Business: Apple and Dispute Resolution in the Courts

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

In August 2012, a California jury ruled that Samsung would have to pay Apple more than $1 billion in damages for patent violations of Apple products, particularly its iPhone. The judge eventually reduced the payout to $600 million. In November 2013, another jury ruled that Samsung would have to pay Apple $290 million of the … Read More

How to Handle Difficult Customers

Posted by & filed under Dealing with Difficult People.

Every salesperson has his or her war stories: tales of difficult customers who made extreme demands and threats, tried to take advantage, or were extremely rude. Dealing with difficult customers is inevitable in the sales world, and the question of how to handle difficult customers looms large. The following three guidelines can help you stay … Read How to Handle Difficult Customers

Taylor Swift: Negotiation Mastermind?

Posted by & filed under BATNA.

What should you do when a negotiation is crumbling? Some people redouble their efforts—conducting more research, holding longer meetings, and scraping together more financing. Others look around for a better deal away from that particular negotiating table—that is, they explore their best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA. As Matthew Belloni reports for Puck, … Read Taylor Swift: Negotiation Mastermind?

4 Sales Negotiation Traps—and How to Overcome Them

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Whether you’re planning to put your home up for sale, trying to unload excess merchandise, or searching for new clients, there’s a good chance you’ll make your next sales negotiation more challenging than it needs to be by falling into common cognitive traps. You can improve your sales negotiation skills by learning about four traps … Read More

Negotiation Skills for Win-Win Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

A few characteristics of negotiation styles include hard bargaining tactics focused on claiming as much value as possible and integrative negotiation strategies such as value creation or win-win negotiation scenarios. What negotiation styles leads to optimal negotiated agreements and are suitable to win-win negotiations? One skill to cultivate that will have a positive impact on … Read Negotiation Skills for Win-Win Negotiations

The Pros and Cons of Back-Channel Negotiations

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Back-channel negotiations have been used in numerous conflicts across the globe, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace process from 1994 to 1996 and the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979–1980. In 1985, the imprisoned Nelson Mandela conducted back-channel negotiations with South Africa’s minister of justice, Hendrik Jacobus Coetsee, that laid the groundwork for the end of the apartheid … Read The Pros and Cons of Back-Channel Negotiations

The Pitfalls of Negotiations Over Email

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

Negotiation research suggests that email often poses more problems than solutions when it comes to relationships, information exchange, and outcomes in conflict resolution negotiation scenarios. First, establishing social rapport via email can be challenging. The lack of nonverbal cues and the dearth of social norms regarding its use can cause negotiators to be impolite and … Read The Pitfalls of Negotiations Over Email

What Is Facilitative Leadership?

Posted by & filed under Leadership Skills.

These days, work can often feel chaotic and unfocused. Leaders and followers alike struggle to keep complex group projects moving forward in the face of seemingly insurmountable economic, technological, and logistical challenges. One tool that can help is facilitative leadership—a management strategy that empowers employees to make decisions, address conflict, and take on greater responsibility.  … Read What Is Facilitative Leadership?

Negotiation in International Relations: Finding Common Ground

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

When thinking of negotiation in international relations, it’s difficult to think of any negotiation with higher stakes than those surrounding nuclear nonproliferation. Often conducted amid international conflict and public scrutiny, complicated by language and cultural barriers, and carried out under tight deadlines, talks aimed at ensuring that nuclear technology is used peacefully and that disarmament … Read More

Persuasion in Negotiation: How Tracy Chapman Was Convinced to Play at the 2024 Grammys

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Tracy Chapman’s surprise performance of her 1988 hit song “Fast Car” alongside country star Luke Combs electrified the 2024 Grammy Awards. Combs’ cover had introduced the award-winning folk classic to a new audience. But Chapman’s decision to perform it at the Grammys was far from a foregone conclusion. The story of how she came to … Read More

Hardball Negotiation Tactics: Time Pressure in Major League Baseball

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Major League Baseball (MLB) games are known for their leisurely pacing. In recent years, off-season negotiations between teams and free agents have sometimes proceeded at a similarly glacial rate, to the consternation of players. Changing power dynamics have led teams to resort to hardball negotiation tactics, such as dragging out talks. As a result, players … Read More

Teach Your Students to Negotiate Cross-Border Water Conflicts

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

With the south-western United States experiencing a years-long drought which has dramatically depleted the Colorado River, there are many signs that water conflicts will become more frequent. Negotiating cross-border water conflicts requires balancing political interests, power dynamics, scientific research, and legal parameters. Success in water negotiations hinges on prediction and monitoring arrangements as well as … Read More

How To Avoid a Business Contract Bidding War

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Back in 2014, Nike was the undisputed king of superstar endorsements, dominating the field by paying top talent millions for the right to sell lines of collectible shoes in their names. But sportswear and footwear supplier Under Armour made a bold play to change the landscape. Basketball star Kevin Durant, then of the Oklahoma City … Read How To Avoid a Business Contract Bidding War

Planning for Cyber Defense of Critical Urban Infrastructure

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Save Fairport: Planning for Social Cyber Defense of Critical Urban Infrastructure

Cybersecurity for critical urban infrastructure is a major public safety issue for cities. Cyber-attacks can cause major physical damage, as well as sow chaos and undermine public faith in government. Cyber criminals constantly develop new types of malware, which may not be detectable by current … Read More

The Benefits of Coalitions at the Bargaining Table

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Labor unions may be the most obvious example of a negotiating coalitions. When a company negotiates with an employee individually, it could threaten to hire someone else in the face of the employee’s demands. By contrast, when employees bargain collectively through a union, they avoid the need to compete against one another (at least on … Read More

7 Tips for Closing the Deal in Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

“ABC: Always Be Closing.” That’s the sales strategy that actor Alec Baldwin’s character Blake shared in the 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross as he tried to motivate a group of real estate salesmen. In his verbally abusive, profanity-laced speech, Blake presented a ruthless model of closing a business deal that ignores customers’ needs and cuts … Read 7 Tips for Closing the Deal in Negotiations

A Top International Negotiation Case Study in Business: The Microsoft-Nokia Deal

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Let’s look at the international negotiation case study of Microsoft’s decision to purchase Finnish mobile phone company Nokia’s mobile device business for $9.5 billion. The deal, which closed in 2014, quickly proved disastrous: Microsoft wrote off nearly all of the deal’s value and laid off thousands of workers in July 2015. Although there were many … Read More

How Timing Can Influence the Anchoring Effect

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

Back on July 11, 2000, we were offered an excellent case study on the anchoring effect when U.S. president Bill Clinton welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to a summit at Camp David aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all. The summit covered various contentious issues, … Read How Timing Can Influence the Anchoring Effect

Learn from the Best with the Great Negotiator Case Studies

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

No one can provide perspective on conflict resolution like experts who have been involved in some of the world’s most complex negotiations. Since 2001, the Program on Negotiation (PON) has bestowed the Great Negotiator Award upon distinguished leaders whose lifelong accomplishments in the fields of negotiation and dispute resolution have had compelling and lasting results. The … Read More

Negotiation Examples in Real Life: Buying a Home

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

While many of our articles discuss negotiation theory and the latest research, sometimes it helps to discuss negotiation examples in real life when offering negotiation tips and advice. The following negotiation example is based on bargaining in real estate, a negotiation scenario many of us may face in our lifetime. … Read Negotiation Examples in Real Life: Buying a Home

International Negotiations and Agenda Setting: Controlling the Flow of the Negotiation Process

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

When two groups are embroiled in a conflict, it is common for the party with less power to have difficulty convincing the more powerful party to sit down at the negotiating table in international negotiations. In such cases, the more powerful player is likely to resist the notion of shaking up the status quo—and thus … Read More

Dealing with Difficult People? Negotiation Lessons from Ronald Reagan

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

In recent months, U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders have struggled to find a winning strategy to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to back away from his aggressions toward Ukraine. In a Wall Street Journal editorial, Ken Adelman, U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s ambassador to the United Nations and arms-control director, writes that recently … Read More

A Negotiation Preparation Checklist

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Without a doubt, the biggest mistake that negotiators make—and one that many make routinely—is failing to thoroughly prepare. When you haven’t done the necessary analysis and research, you are highly likely to leave value on the table and even to be taken advantage of by your counterpart. A negotiation preparation checklist can help you avoid … Read A Negotiation Preparation Checklist

Do Attitudes in Negotiation Influence Results?

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

Many people consider negotiations to be stressful and threatening. Others view them as challenges to be overcome. Do these different attitudes influence the outcomes that people reach? Research by professors Kathleen M. O’Connor of Cornell University and Josh A. Arnold of California State University sheds light on this important question. … Read Do Attitudes in Negotiation Influence Results?

Check Out the All-In-One Curriculum Packages – Available for Some of Our Most Popular Simulations

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Introducing a new way to go in-depth when teaching the most important negotiation concepts and to measure learning outcomes. If you are new to teaching negotiation or are looking to go in-depth on teaching key concepts, the All-In-One Curriculum Package will provide you with everything you need. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center has created All-In-One Curriculum … Read More

Trump’s Negotiating Style as President-Elect

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

Donald J. Trump entered the Oval Office with considerable dealmaking experience in the business world. But his blank slate as an elected official combined with his fluctuating positions on key issues such as immigration and tax policy throughout the presidential race left many wondering what his negotiating style would be. In the months between being elected U.S. president … Read Trump’s Negotiating Style as President-Elect

Teaching Contract Negotiation: Using the Mutual Gains Approach

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

How do you use the mutual gains approach in contract negotiations? In contract negotiations, parties can often resort to positional bargaining instead of using the mutual gains approach. Teaching students to generate creative options in contract negotiations can help them avoid positional bargaining and achieve more beneficial and sustainable agreements. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) … Read More

Conflict Management and Negotiation: Personality and Individual Differences That Matter

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

Although Elfenbein and her colleagues did find that negotiators performed at a similar level from one negotiation to the next, to their surprise, these scores were only minimally related to specific personality traits. And traits that are basically unchangeable, such as gender, ethnic background, and physical attractiveness, were not closely connected to people’s scores. A small … Read More

New Simulation: International Business Acquisition Negotiated Online

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

New from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), Ren the Robot is a one-and-a-half hour, two-party, multi-issue negotiation between a Tokyo-based robotics company, Grubotics, and a U.S.-based tech company, Delivered, over a potential acquisition deal. It is designed to be conducted using online video conferencing. The use of online video conference technology highlights the conveniences … Read More

Teaching Critical Leadership Skills

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Running a multinational corporation, starting a small business, or leading a diplomatic mission all require critical leadership skills. Being an effective leader necessitates negotiating both within your organization and with external partners. In Real Leaders Negotiate, author Jeswald Salacuse explains that leaders can increase their effectiveness by using negotiation in each of the three phases … Read Teaching Critical Leadership Skills

Will You Avoid a Negotiation Impasse?

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

In the summer of 2016, Illinois became the only U.S. state in the past 80 years to go an entire year without a full operating budget, according to Reuters. It reached that dubious milestone thanks to an epic negotiation impasse between Republican governor Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled state legislature. The story of the negotiation … Read Will You Avoid a Negotiation Impasse?

Dispute Resolution for India and Bangladesh

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Sometimes in international negotiation, disputes are left to fester for years, even decades, until parties decide there is something to be gained from reaching agreement. In an example of a cross cultural negotiation case study, the nations of Bangladesh and India seized on an opportunity to push the “restart” button on their bumpy relationship by … Read Dispute Resolution for India and Bangladesh

Top Ten Posts About Conflict Resolution

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

Conflict resolution is the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict by meeting at least some of each side’s needs and addressing their interests. Conflict resolution sometimes requires both a power-based and an interest-based approach, such as the simultaneous pursuit of litigation (the use of legal power) and negotiation (attempts to reconcile each party’s … Read Top Ten Posts About Conflict Resolution

Dealmaking Secrets from Henry Kissinger

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

More than 1,600 international relations experts from across the political spectrum overwhelmingly rate Henry Kissinger, who served under former presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, the most effective secretary of state of the last half-century. In their book, Kissinger the Negotiator: Lessons from Dealmaking at the Highest Level (Harper, 2018), James K. Sebenius, R. Nicholas … Read Dealmaking Secrets from Henry Kissinger

Relationship-Building in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Forging close bonds typically helps negotiators reach better deals, work together effectively over time, and manage conflict—yet negotiators often rush through the process of relationship-building in negotiation. Here’s advice on how to approach this important aspect of negotiation more methodically. Overcome Partisan Perceptions An unconscious bias often gets in the way of relationship-building in negotiation: partisan perceptions, or … Read Relationship-Building in Negotiation

Managing Emotions in Negotiation: Teaching Students to Turn Emotions into an Opportunity for Mutual Gain

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

How do you move from an emotionally charged moment in a negotiation to a mutually beneficial agreement? In negotiations of all types, whether buying a house or negotiating a company acquisition, emotions naturally manifest. Left unaddressed, emotions can derail a negotiation and make agreement seem impossible. … Read More

The Two Koreas Practice Conflict Management

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

In August 2015, the decades-long conflict between South Korea and North Korea threatened to reach a breaking point. The causes of conflict between North and South go deep, but in this case, the South accused the North of planting landmines that seriously injured two South Korean border guards. South Korea retaliated with an old tactic … Read The Two Koreas Practice Conflict Management

The Value of Using Scorable Simulations in Negotiation Training

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

At a Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) faculty pedagogy seminar, members of the PON faculty and negotiation community gathered to hear Gordon Kaufman (MIT Morris A. Adelman Professor of Management, Emeritus) speak about how he uses quantifiable data to plot student-learning trajectories. The conversation focused on the ongoing debate within the negotiation pedagogy community regarding the way … Read More

Teaching with Multi-Round Simulations: Balancing Internal and External Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Whether in business, law, or international diplomacy, many negotiations are actually comprised of a multi-round process with negotiations internal to the organization preceding external ones. Using multi-round negotiation simulations can help students understand the connection between internal and external negotiations, handle more complex scenarios, and better get into their roles. Engaging in a multi-round negotiation … Read More

Now Available: Full Videos from the AI Negotiation Summit

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

On March 8 and 9, 2025, the Program on Negotiation (PON) convened leading practitioners and scholars on artificial intelligence (AI) and negotiation to present their cutting-edge research and discuss innovations in the field. The summit was also the culmination of a student AI negotiation bot competition, held by MIT. Chaired by Jared Curhan and Jonathan Gratch, the AI … Read More

Bidding in an International Business Negotiation: Euro-Idol

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Euro-Idol is a four-party, two-round international business negotiation over the selection of the host country and city for the upcoming Euro-Idol music competition. In this bidding simulation from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), cities must place bids to host the Euro-Idol competition, and therefore gain the economic benefits that come with hosting such a … Read More

Teach Your Students How to Have Difficult Conversations Over Email

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Negotiating over email has its own unique challenges and opportunities. For example, people often assume that the emails they have sent are read immediately and so experience anxiety when there isn’t a prompt response, failing to account for reasonable delays. Email negotiations also provide a permanent record of what is discussed which can be a … Read More

The Collective Leadership Approach to Negotiating Climate Action

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Former UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres received the Program on Negotiation’s 2022 Great Negotiator Award. On April 14, 2022, the Program on Negotiation (PON) presented its Great Negotiator Award to Christiana Figueres, formerly the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and one of the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. … Read More

Negotiation Techniques: How to Predict a Negotiator’s Decisions

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

Improving your negotiation skills can only take you so far – eventually you need to assess you behavior preferences as a negotiator. Being able to predict how you will behave in a given bargaining scenario will help you augment the negotiation training you have received as well as help you achieve better outcomes at the … Read More