1.1 Defining Negotiation

The overall objective of negotiation is to help reach a mutually beneficial solution for both parties. Imagine buying a car and discussing the sale price and inclusions with the car dealership. Or picture yourself at a job interview, discussing the terms of your employment. Both are examples of negotiation discussions, and both scenarios involve finding a solution that works for both parties. The dealership wants to sell the car, and you would like to buy it; similarly, the organization would like to hire you, and you are interested in working for them – reaching an agreement would benefit both parties in these two scenarios. The less we focus on winning versus losing and the more we try to find solutions that work for both parties, the greater our chances of negotiation success.

Negotiations happen every day, all around us. They are not strictly confined to business scenarios but are a daily part of our lives. While every negotiation is unique, all negotiations will share four common elements or characteristics:

Let’s dive into these characteristics a bit further. First, a negotiation needs to involve at least two parties with their own interests and objectives. We can think of a negotiation as a dance; as one party moves, the other party adjusts its response. It is all about finding a rhythm with the other party.

The parties are interdependent in that their actions will affect one another. There is a conflict of interest within each negotiation since the parties will have their own goals that may not align with the other parties’ interests and objectives. Consider our example of buying a car. While making a deal will be mutually beneficial to both parties (the dealership would like to move the car, and the buyer needs a car), each party’s interests compete (i.e. the dealer would like the highest price with the least inclusions, and the buyer wants the opposite!)

Finally, a negotiation is a two-way street. Parties need to be motivated to give and take so that they can reach a solution that is beneficial to both parties. Again, think about a dance; one party moves, and the other adjusts their response. And just like a dance, negotiation truly is much more than a skill – it is an art.

Image: OpenAI. (2024, July 9). ChatGPT. [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Prompt: Create an image of two people dancing together, where the dress is teal, and the background is removed. Save as PNG file.