You probably don’t realise it but you negotiate with others all day every day – with colleagues, clients, managers and even your loved ones at home. Some conversations are easy and some are more difficult and it is normal to have conflict in a negotiation due to competing interests.

Here are our top tips for a successful negotiation outcome:

Plan Head

Understand what you are wanting to achieve and why. If you know why, you can explain it to others.

Stay Open Minded

Seeing the other’s point of view will assist in the negotiating process. If you have a closed mind so will they.

Identify Their Interests

You will need to consider the interest of the other parties. If you don’t understand, ask open ended questions and listen carefully to what they are saying.

Don’t Rush The Process

Be prepared to have numerous conversations to achieve an amicable outcome.

Deliver On The Agreement

This assists with building trust and respect for future situations that may arise.

Ask For Support

Only from trusted advisors. Don’t gossip and ask the whole office for their opinion as this will only confuse you more.

Don’t Be Afraid

If you use these tips, take your time and have a considered approach you will be just fine. Even if you don’t achieve the exact outcome you wanted, it is a character building exercise and no doubt you will learn from it in the future.