The Art of Negotiation: How to Talk to Anyone

This lecture course provides an insight and a primer into the role of negotiation in conversation, giving students tips and tricks to quickly develop a rapport with anyone, from team members to project stakeholders, customers, clients and senior management. Examine the techniques used in high-stakes situations, learn to unpack ways to engage with difficult conversational partners, get the best out of people, and close that deal.

Quick Tips for Improving Negotiation Conversation Skills

"He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of negotiation."                                                                                                                                                                     - Chris Voss

Students will develop an initial understanding of the processes behind a conversation and a negotiation, examining technique used by specialised law enforcement divisions from around the world. Put persuasion into practice and discover the importance of a "win-win" mindset in achieving goals.

Students will learn:

• How to increase your negotiating power in a single sentence
• How to hunt and kill the elephant in the room
• When to use the "F" Word

Difficult People

“L’enfer, c’est les autres”                                                                                                                                                 - Jean-Paul Satre

You can't please all of the people, all of the time. However, you can certainly come close. With this module, you'll learn how to identify and remedy negative behavioural tendencies in conversation and negotiation. Deal with others and diagnose your own issues.

Students will find out:

• How to spot a bully, a liar, a faker and a flatterer (and how to still get to win-win)
• How to overcome indecision, placate perfectionists, and read the unresponsive
• How if you don't think you have any problems, you like are the problem

Is Your Deal too Good to be True?

"The key is to set realistic expectations, then exceed them, preferably in unexpected and helpful ways."                                                                                                                                                                               - Richard Branson

In this module, students will use modern media to investigate how even the best deals can quickly go sour, navigating examples from the music industry, book deals, and start-up valuations where unrealistic deals are the norm. Through identifying and communicating problems up front, student will learn how to set realistic expectations, whether in a deal or when managing a project.

Students will discover:

• Why the highest bidder isn't always the best
• How to avoid being a casualty in a bidding war
• When to negotiate DOWN