Developing Good Negotiation Skills - Assignment Example

Having good negotiation skills can help a person obtain better deals and influence the behaviour of others in different situations. Several critical components of negotiation have helped me in the past obtain good results from a negotiation. The first critical component is having good interpersonal abilities or good people skills. A person that has good people skills is more likely to be liked by the other party. Creating a bond of trust and mutual respect can help the negotiation process. People with good interpersonal abilities can communicate well with others. A lack of communication can be a barrier that hurts a negotiation.

A second component of communication that can facilitate the negotiation process is having good persuasion ability. During a negotiation, each party is supposed to influence the other party to reach the desirable terms of the deal. Being good at persuading others can help you score points in your favour during a negotiation. Politicians are a great example of people that use persuasion in their negotiations and public messages to the general population. When using persuasion one must concentrate on focusing on the most important terms of a deal.

 A third communication component that can positively impact the ability of a person to succeed during negotiation is active listening skills. Active listening can be defined as the act of mindfully hearing and attempting to comprehend the meaning of words spoken by another in a negotiation can create an offer that meets the needs of both parties (Business Dictionary). Whenever I’m in a negotiation I like to listen to others first to analyze my options more analytically. Listening well to others also helps me understand the wants of the opposition which can help me garner bargaining power by creating offers based on those needs.

Reply 1: I agree with you that to be good at negotiating it takes a lot of practice. A person is not born with negotiation skills. People get better at negotiating by themselves, through lifetime experiences, and training. Being able to read another person can help in a negotiation. The use of active listening skills can help a person decipher what others want. In your post, you mentioned the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication. Body language can help decipher the intention of others. The mood of a person can influence the outcome of a negotiation.

Reply 2: I agree with you that reading and understanding the intentions of the second party involved in a negotiation is important. A person must pay close attention to verbal and non-verbal signals. The tone of the voice of the second party can give signals that can alter the negotiation process. For instance, a loud person might come out as being hostile. A firm handshake might give an inclination that a person is serious.