Basics of basics
If you want to learn to negotiate, this article is of great importance for you. The reason for this is simple: according to the dictionary, basics relates to, or forms the base or essence of. Subsequently, in order for one to be able to reason about something or develop it further, basics are needed to do that. In this article, my dear Reader, I shall present to you precisely this – the essence of negotiations – basics, on which the fundament of everything you will find in future articles is laid. This article is very important. Please, enjoy!
Basics of basics
The structure of our brain causes us to make decisions based on emotions. This is confirmed by research. It is crucial to understand the mechanisms of emotions and it is useful to know how to influence them. If humans were completely rational, negotiations would come down to a calculation spreadsheet and everything would be numerically expressible. As science shows, humans are totally susceptible to emotions. Interior wellbeing dictates the external interactions with the world and information used in the process of thinking are just an input of perception and bounded by assumptions.
When we enter the context of negotiations, we must also enter a personality of a negotiator. This will point our heading towards success. We do this by adopting attitudes, which will influence all our behaviors.
1. Firstly, a human-orientated attitude. People, with whom we negotiate deserve to be treated in an individual and unbiased manner. This means we get to know a person based on our own interpretation of them. Common mistakes include perceiving people by the organization in which they work or generalizing our perception to other people from that organization. Even if we have negative experiences with an organization, it will not be of help to get in an upset mood before a meeting with their new representative. Such attribution bias will only initiate a spiral of hatred which will distance us from any kind of agreement. The assumption is people are good.
2. Secondly, an empathic attitude. Every inter human interaction is a play of emotions. The first step to establishing communication on an emotional level is to accept a person for what they are. Only then do we get access to our partner’s rational thinking, which is when we can lead them through a talk on interests.
3. Thirdly, an attitude of focus on the interests of all sides. A professional negotiator is conscious of his interests before the talks begin. Negotiations are a time to gain in-depth understanding of our partner’s interests and help them discover ours. Showing curiosity and respect towards our partner’s interests and towards him as a person is another step towards a positive emotional relation.
4. Fourthly, a respectful attitude. Respect is the next key to human emotions. Thank to it we feel appreciated and treated like partners. Without the basics of respect we will not advance to emotions, in which we have positive feelings towards someone – and that is one of the conditions to reaching a win-win agreement. Respect and calmness can be kept in any situation.
5. Fifthly, an attitude of us perspective. We can limit our attention around our interests or we can open our attention to the interests of our partner and enter an us perspective. This way, together we look at our (yours and mine) interests and approach negotiations like a puzzle. We jointly (you and I) work out a solution, which will help to realize our (yours as well as mine) interests to the fullest. As a result, we reach a satisfying agreement.
NEGOTIATION ESSENTIALS
What are negotiations?
Key phrases in negotiations.
The basic of basics in negotiations. Principles of negotiations.
Goals in business negotiations.
Stages of negotiations. The process of business negotiations.
Trust in negotiations.
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