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LEARNING RESOURCE
8. Ask good questions, then stop
talking, listen, and demonstrate
empathy.
y Good negotiators listen more than MBAexpress: Nuances of Negotiating — V 2.0
they talk. Ask probing questions and This course will provide you with key tips and techniques
then listen up. Your counterpart you can use to improve your negotiating strategy, skills, and
will tell you a lot of what you need confidence.
to know.
y Encourage your counterpart to talk COURSE
by asking open-ended questions.
Ironically, smart people are more
prone to making the mistake of not
listening. For instance, someone
narrates an experience, and we either
start comparing with our situation, rather than getting caught up in the better to squeeze the last penny out
“Oh yeah, that’s like when I ...”, or we power play. of this deal or to spend that time on
go into solution-seeking mode even y To counteract the “I’m not another deal.
as they are speaking. authorised” or “My hands are tied”
y Choose the question type according tactic, be sure to clarify routing and 12. Focus on closing.
to the situation: closed, open-ended, approval procedures in advance so y Successful negotiators know how to
leading, or sequential. that they can become part of your close. They consider every element of
y Gather precise information with negotiation strategy. closure: time, place, documentation,
a closed question. “Can you state y If you encounter what appears to be pending issues.
categorically that you have not a false deadlines tactic, beware of y When relying on lawyers to draw
contracted at a rate lower than this?” Chicken Little insisting the sky is up the official contract, share the
y Explore options with a what-if falling; verify that it really is urgent motivations behind the deal with
question. “What if we did it this way?” and what is the nature of the urgency. your lawyer to ensure that it captures
y Win people by seeking advice. “What the deal in letter and spirit.
would you suggest to resolve this 10. Determine when to walk away y Similarly, in internal negotiations,
issue?” from the negotiation. email your understanding of
y Paraphrase and confirm what they y Know what success looks like and the discussions and agreement
said, to prevent misunderstanding the minimum outcomes you must reached and get it confirmed by
and convey listening. “Have I got this achieve. Think about what your the other party.
right? You are saying that …?” walk-away point is if you cannot y Finally, at the end of every major
y Questions can be nonverbal as well achieve them. negotiation, it would be good to
— raising an eyebrow, nodding to y Avoid rushing into a deal at any cost perform a review and assess what
prompt more, or simply staying silent because it turns you into fresh meat went well and what you could have
are signals to the other person to say in a shark tank. done better. This will ensure you keep
more. y Although it may be more beneficial improving your negotiation skills. ■
y Listen with the context of the body to achieve a successful outcome in a
language. As leadership coach John negotiation, you’ll gain confidence
Maxwell said, “People may hear your when you know that you have
words, but they feel your attitude.” researched viable alternatives and Resource
y Non–face-to-face negotiations (email, have a strong BATNA (best alternative Podcast episode
phone, messaging, etc.) must be more to a negotiated agreement) that you
nuanced since you can’t observe body continue to keep alive. This tactic “Basic Skills of a Successful
language of the other party. may be less applicable to internal Negotiator”, FM magazine,
negotiations. 4 September 2018
9. Recognise and block tactics by
your counterpart. 11. Don’t let the perfect fight the
y Good cop, bad cop is a tactic where good enough. Raju Venkataraman, FCMA, CGMA, is a
one person is confrontational y Make a conscious effort to negotiation skills trainer and
and demanding while the other distinguish big (must-have), credentialed leadership and career
is understanding and supportive. medium (intend-to-have), and small coach (PCC) based in Singapore,
The first thing you must realise is (nice-to-have) issues. Most, if not all, serving clients worldwide. To comment
that both are on the same side. One deals involve some compromises and on this article or to suggest an idea for
way of handling this is to explicitly are thus imperfect. another article, contact Andrew
call out their tactic. Another way of y Determine how important remaining Adamek at Andrew.Adamek@
addressing the situation is to shift issues are. aicpa-cima.com.
your focus to the good cop only y Ask yourself whether it would be

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