The Five Phases of Every Successful Negotiation

    If I told you , that there was one skill, one skill only that racticed and utilized  in certain situations, the reward being a much better chance, at getting everything it is Your little heart desires, when should you be interested in hearing About it? I mean, we live in a world where we have every bit of information that we would ever need to know, at  Literally, our fingertips. the internet has made it's extremely easy to access absolutely anything we would want to know In minutes. even better, the internet is everywhere. this said, if I were to tell you what this skill is,

Preparation- Preparation is always a smart thing to do before anything important, and this is no different when it comes to negotiation. First and foremost, the parties involved need to decide when and where the meeting will take place. It never hurts to set a limited time-scale before hand to prevent the arguing to drag on longer than it has to. Prior to entering into a negotiation, make sure to write down all the pertinant facts so that you don't forget to bring up anything important. It is also a good idea to go into the negotiation well aware of your bottom line and what you are prepared to give up and what you will not and stick to them... so long as they are fair.

2. Discussion- During this stage, each party puts forward the case as they see it, such as their understanding of the situation, for example. Three skills that are absolutely key to this stage are questioning, listening and clarifying. It never hurts to take notes during this part of the negotiation in case their is need for further clarification. Out of the three key skills, listening is probably the most impotant and this is a mistake that is made all too often, especially if the discussion starts to get heated. It is never a good idea to say too much and listen too little. Not only does it give you the disadvantage of not understanding the other parties point of view, people are much more likely to cooperate when they feel their feelings are being listened to and understood. And last but definitely least always remember that each side should have an equal opportunity to present their case. That is the only way in which a fair and proper negotiation can take place.

3. Clarifying Goals- From the discussion the interests, points of view and goals of each party need to be made clear. One thing that makes this helpful oftentimes is to list these factors in order of importance and priority. Clarification is an essential part of negotiating because through this it is often possible to identify or establish some common ground, which makes a win-win situation much more feasible.

4. Negotiate Towards a Win-Win Outcome
This stage focuses on what is termed a 'win-win' outcome where both sides feel they have gained something positive through the process of negotiation and both sides feel their point of view has been taken into consideration.
A win-win outcome is usually the best result. Although this may not always be possible, through negotiation, it should be the ultimate goal.
Suggestions of alternative strategies and compromises need to be considered at this point. Compromises are often positive alternatives which can often achieve greater benefit for all concerned compared to holding to the original positions.

5 Agreement- And finally, if a negotiation is successful than an agreement is reached. An agreement that everyone can live with and that everyone feels good about! It can only be achieved when everyone involved viewpoints and interests have been taken into consideration. Always remember to keep and open mind so that you can achieve an acceptable solution. The agreement needs to be clear so that everyone involved leaves the negotiation knowing exactly what has been decided.

Agreement can be achieved once understanding of both sides' viewpoints and interests have been considered.
It is essential to for everybody involved to keep an open mind in order to achieve an acceptable solution. Any agreement needs to be made perfectly clear so that both sides know what has been decided.

If I told you right now that I could teach you one skill, and you could learn most of the overall foundation and start working this skill in a matter of a moments what would you say? I know when I was asked that same question I said something along the lines of "Well don't waste another minute! Tell me!" I was almost disappointed to heat the answer, "Negotiation'. Up until this conversation, when I heard the word negotiation the first thing that would come to my mind was a man yelling through a loud speaker to a man who is about to jump off the top floor of a building. "Stop! Your life is worth so much more than this. We can talk about all of this. Don't jump!" This or a scenario very close to it was what went through my mind when I heard that word Negotiation. He began to explain to me the very basics and within a couple of minutes I was interested and when he asked if I wanted more information I very enthusiastically accepted. And I am so glad I did.