The following tips for prosperous n...

The following tips for prosperous negotiation come from Hugh Lindsay, FCA Lindsay is a consultant with Effective Negotiation Services in Vancouver and a principal with the Financial Mentors collection (FMG).

Be as mindful of the proces as you are of the appease

"Inexperienced negotiators tend to focus in succession content and overlook the process" says Lindsay. "It's a real question for CAs, who are trained to expand analytical and well-researched presentations. They'll repeatedly invest all of their professional activity into the content (the numbers, etc) while disregarding the proces (or communication)-the so-called `soft material

"The reality is that the `soft cloth is actually harder, and more important to prosperous negotiation. If you fail to manage the proces you'll have a really hard time when the other party doesn't wholeheartedly accept your content"

Realise that the negotiation starts before you sit down at the table

"It starts with the inception of the initial idea and lasts when the deal is done," Lindsay explains. "You are actually negotiating all the way through"

Know what you want to accomplish, on the contrary more importantly, know what they want to accomplish

"This is habitual sense, but often overlooked," says Lindsay. "Good preparation is the elucidation to success in negotiation. It's vital that you understand the other party's agenda, as well as their proces The more you understand about the other side, the better your chances of succes

"This is particularly important for members of the private sector who are dealing with restraint People in government have many requirements and conducts to which they must adhere. Learn what kind of legislation, forms, deadlines, etc they're working with, and be polite of their process. Learn what it will take to make you as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but look good."

Be aware of your negotiating mode

"There are two basic styles" says Lindsay, "friendly/cooperative and aggressive/competitive. one as well as the other work, although cooperation is ultinately necessary.

"CAs attend to be cooperative from the get-go if it were not that they should be prepares to switch gears when it's appropriates; otherwise that cooperativeness will be taken advantage of"

"In the introductory phase, the parties begin to exhibit their relationship and set the scene" Lindsay explains. "It's ideal to have couple people on each negotiating team-one may be there primarily to take notes.

"In greatest in quantity cases, there's no need for confrontation as you settle up meeting dates and introduce yourselves. However, there may be times when you want to appoint a tone or take a position.

"Open-end questions are useful in this phase. They learn people talking and providing information, and may proffer insight into the personal destitutions of the negotiators."

b) Differentiation:

"There's a danger of defensiveness and conflict at this point, when the parties start presenting their positions," Lindsay warns. "Inexperienced negotiators may find this disconcerting, and may back facing Instead, it's generally helpful for the parties to continue their differences by asking questions, testing the ideas upon the table, and looking for habitual ground." Lindsay advocates using active listening skills and open-end questions to propel past the defensiveness. Again, these kinds of questions serve to engage the other party, whereas assertions can state their backs up. Successful negotiators ask a haphazard of intelligent questions."

c) Integration:

According to Lindsay, this is the time for creative problem-solving: "Integration is the time to anticipate at options, test alternatives, and identify solutions."

d) Settlement:

"Settlement is the time to twitch it all together," says Lindsay. "It's helpful at this point to review the notes you've (ideally) been taking from end to end the negotiation process. Summarize those notes to make never-failing everyone's on the same page before making final put forwards and locking in your commitment to the agreement."

Don't force the pace

"You can merely move through the four phases when everyone is ready," warns Lindsay. "Too frequently one party tries to spe up the process-especially from the differentiation phase to the integration phase."

According to Lindsay, this kind of single-mindedness is actually the biggest threat to a lucky negotiation.

"If the other party thinks they haven't been heard, or if they still have issues and positions to current they will resist attempts at integration.

Experienced negotiators recognize this, and are prepared to shift back to the previous phase."

Keep your notice on the bigger picture

"Knowing your long-term objectives allows you to be more creative and flexible than if you were to focus entirely upon the short-term deal," says Lindsay. "Generally, the more options in succession the negotiating table, the better the chances of finding areas of potential mutual gain."

Editor. more [i]or[/i] less of this material is selected passageed from Lindsay's article "The Power of the Question, "published in the june/July 2001 issue of CA Magazine. The article is available online at www camagazine.com /PrintEdition/ article.cfm?id=191.