5 Tips for Better Business Negotiation Skills

Most conflicts stem from a person’s inability to deal with another. The ability to negotiate and deal with a person successfully is composing a big percentage in the ladder towards success. This ability, however, is not an easy skill to develop and it may take time before one can effectively negotiate. There are a number of negotiation skills which you can develop and an effective use of all these skills will help you arrive at a win-win solution.

Tip # 1: Listen More Than You Speak

Listening is one of the most important negotiation skills which you need to develop—however, it is said that this is also the hardest of all negotiation skills to learn. We are given two pieces of ears and one mouth, which basically means we have to listen with more intent than our desire to speak.

Tip # 2: Speak With Empathy and Sincerity

An average reasonable person will not find it hard to identify a person’s sincerity when he or she speaks. Speaking emphatically and conveying thoughts clearly and concisely are important negotiation skills.

Tip # 3: Respect A Person’s Belief and Values

A mutual respect between two parties is one of the strongest negotiation skills which will most likely create union and settle differences effectively. Contradicting a person on account of his beliefs and values will lead to no advantage.

Tip # 4: Be Open to Options and Alternative Solutions

In settling a conflict, a single shot approach will often lead to a disagreement between both parties. Being open to multiple options and an amicable reception of the other parties’ ideas are effective negotiation skills. This way, the other party will realize how you respect and value his or her side, too.

Tip # 5: Be Dependable and Trustworthy

Hitting a person behind his back is not an ideal means of negotiation. Not only does this make you an unreliable person, it also defeats the purpose of negotiation.

These five tips on negotiation skills will not be mastered in a single event or experience. It takes time and subsequent correct practice of these skills before you can consider yourself a competent negotiating guru.

Photo Credit:John Ragal