Can anyone become an expert negotiator at work?
Conflict is a natural part of life – but it can still feel tough to face. Knowing effective negotiation strategies can help you overcome conflict anxiety.
Whether you’re negotiating the sale of a house, a higher salary, or better working conditions, if you’re up against a party with competing interests to yours, it can feel hard to know how to play your cards right.
But there are common negotiation strategies that anyone can learn.
Lecturer in the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Business & Economics, Dr Belinda Allen says anyone can become a skilled negotiator — both at work and within their general life.
“It's definitely not a trait. It's not something you're born with,” she says.
“In fact, research tells us that experience alone is not going to make you better – but learning some of the ways in which we think as humans, and the kind of traps we can fall into, can increase people's negotiation capability significantly.”
Drawing on her psychology and consulting background, Dr Allen covers these tactics in Effective Negotiation, an online course for professionals of all industries who want to improve their powers of persuasion.
Dr Allen says the art of negotiation is very much informed by psychology and emotions – and humans can be quite susceptible to certain strategies.
For example, people will often make more concessions if they know a deadline is approaching.
“As a result, skilled negotiators will often insert an artificial deadline,” says Dr Allen.
“There are lots of tricks like that out there, which will help you load the dice in your favour.”
Knowing these kinds of tips can help get your position over the line – and, in best-case scenarios, leave all parties feeling like they came away positively from the negotiation process.
Conflict doesn’t have to be negative
Not wanting to ruffle feathers can be a common feeling in the workplace. In a study of first-time managers, researchers found conflict management was one of the biggest fears of people new to the job.
Writing in Harvard Business Review, they cited estimations that up to 40% of a manager’s time can be taken up with conflict resolution, so it’s reasonable for people to feel daunted at the prospect.
Dr Allen says many people’s first instinct is to shy away from conflict — but avoidance is rarely a helpful tactic.
“More often than not, avoiding conflict only tends to escalate the conflict.”
She says it’s important for leaders to understand that conflict in a team doesn’t necessarily indicate there is something wrong – it could actually show that people are thinking creatively and care about their work.
Yet, it can still feel scary to confront conflicting perspectives. If you feel this – even after years of experience in the workplace – you’re definitely not alone.
Understanding causes of conflict
When thinking through how to respond to conflict, it can be helpful to consider what is causing the tension – and what type of conflict you’re dealing with.
Dr Allen says two common types of conflict that arise in the workplace are “task-based” and “relationship-based”.
Task-based conflict revolves around the way a task is being done.
“In this kind of conflict, we might be disagreeing about how we should go about something, what should be our focus, or maybe what order we might do something in. It's heavily focused on the work,” she says.
Relationship-based conflict, on the other hand, is centred on people and personalities.
Dr Allen says task-based conflict can actually often lead to positive outcomes, whereas relationship-based can become quite heated and detrimental to the people involved if it turns particularly sour.
“Certainly, if you're wanting any kind of creativity or innovation in the workplace, you're going to have to tolerate a degree of task-based conflict,” she suggests.
“It can mean that we're getting the benefit of people's different experiences and different knowledge to really start to understand a problem and possibly come up with an innovative or creative solution.”
Zero-sum vs win-win thinking
Knowing a bit about different types of negotiation can also help when preparing to enter talks. Dr Allen suggests thinking through the potential outcomes for each party – and understanding as best you can where the oppositional party is coming from.
You may have come across the ideas of “distributive” versus “integrative” negotiation.
Distributive negotiation is often thought of as a win-lose or zero-sum scenario.
“It's sometimes described as having a fixed pie – there are only so many pieces of the pie that you can cut up and then, that's it, the pie is gone,” says Dr Allen.
In these cases, people might tend to be a little more hard lined, because they feel they have more to lose.
Integrative negotiations are those where there is the potential for a win-win – both parties can gain out of the negotiation.
“One of the mistakes that people can make in a workplace context is to assume that a negotiation is distributive, so it's going to be a win-lose situation, and that there are no integrative elements,” says Dr Allen
“In practice, it tends not to be as clear cut – there will probably be elements of both in most negotiations.”
How to negotiate effectively
When it comes to – gulp! – beginning the negotiation process, try to keep a clear head and avoid an aggressive or combative approach. These tips may help:
1. Prepare
Before you enter the negotiations, it helps to prep as best as you can.
“One of the key mistakes that people make with negotiation is not preparing sufficiently; instead, thinking, ‘I'll just go in and wing this,’” says Dr Allen.
“That’s particularly in relation to not spending enough time trying to understand the other party or the other side's positions and making lots of assumptions and not doing enough fact-finding.”
2. Diagnose the type of negotiation
Considering the type of negotiation at hand can also help steer your strategy. Dr Allen suggests thinking through certain questions about your relationship with the other party.
“For example, how important are things like having a relationship with this other party or individual over the longer term?
“Does this negotiation need to strengthen that relationship because you're going to have to work with them into the future? Or is it the case that you're only going to have to deal with this person once?
“You might be able to take a slightly different approach with that knowledge.”
3. Actively listen; aim for positive emotions
When you’re engaged in the negotiation, try to keep things civil and positive.
“We know from research that if you can try and engender positive emotions in people that they will tend to be able to think more creatively and they'll be more innovative in terms of their decision-making,” says Dr Allen.
She says actively listening to the other party is also key.
4. Expect a dynamic scenario
Thoroughly consider alternative outcomes to the negotiations.
“The more you can think about what your other options are, the stronger negotiating position you're in,” says Dr Allen.
“A mistake that people often make is that they don't keep an eye on those options as the negotiation progresses, particularly if the negotiation is extending over more than just a single day, for example.
“So those other options are dynamic, they'll be changing in terms of how valuable they are the extent to which they're available.”
5. Know your resistance point
Sometimes you simply need to know when to fold.
“Consider what's referred to as your ‘resistance point’ – or, at what point do you walk away from the negotiation?
“You need to think about what your alternatives are if you can't negotiate an outcome.”
Hopefully it won’t come to this point – but it doesn’t hurt to think it through.
How to practice negotiation skills
Having an understanding of conflict resolution theory can help you get your head around how to become a better negotiator – but it’s much more useful to put theory into practice.
Dr Allen helps professionals of all stripes practice negotiating in a safe and supportive environment in the Effective Negotiation course.
She says it’s a highly practice-based program which is ideal for people of all industries and experience levels.
“We have people for which negotiation is a fairly core element of the work they do – and they come along to the course as a refresh and to possibly pick up additional tips or tricks.
“At the same time, we have people who haven't got a great deal of experience in conflict resolution and negotiation, and currently find it really intimidating and frightening, and so they’re doing the course because they want to try and build their confidence in a really safe environment.
“We also have lots of other people in between.”
In the four-week course, you’ll cover key conflict resolution strategies and receive expert advice on how to enhance your negotiation skills.
Dr Allen says whether you’re a leader with years of managerial experience under your belt or a more junior employee, you’ll gain evidence-based tips and tricks that you can put into play right away at work.
Ready to sharpen your negotiating skills? Enrolments are now open for Effective Negotiation, beginning in August.