I’ve been on a bit of a podcasts kick lately and wanted to share a series that I found to be very informative: Slate.com’s Negotiation Academy.
This series is made up of 10 very easily digestable podcasts (10-15 minutes each) that focus on a different aspect of negotiating. It is led by Jill Barshay and Seth Stevenson who studied negotiating tactics at Columbia Business School. They do an excellent job of explaining each key topic, provide very relevant and easy to understand examples, and interview some of the leading negotiators and mediators in the world.
If you’re looking for something to listen to on your way to work for the next week or two, I’d definitely suggest you check it out, but, in the meantime here are some of my key takeaways:
- Be Prepared. Before you even think about sitting at the negotiating table, you better know your stuff. Know the other party and where they’re coming from. Know the price that you want to start at and what your walkaway price is. Your preparation is often the one thing that you can control, so you’re going to want to knock it out of the park. This will also help make you much more confident, which will serve you very well in the heat of the moment.
- Build Rapport. Let’s be honest, someone is going to be more receptive to working with someone who they actually like, so whether it’s before you meet for the negotiation or from the second you shake their hand–Work it! It may be tempting to act like the serious dealmaker, but coming off as a jerk isn’t going to get you very far.
- Ask Questions. Your biggest priority at the negotiating table should be to extract as much information from the other party as possible. The more you learn about them, the more leverage you will gain by understanding what their priorities are and the more likely you will be able to come to an agreement that is beneficial to both of you.
Ultimately, what all of these come down to is doing everything you can to have the upper hand in negotiations and gain leverage over the party.
Whether you’re negotiating a multi-million dollar deal or simply trying to negotiate a raise, there’s certainly something for you to learn from this podcast series, so I’d encourage you to check it out!
Have you had a chance to build some negotiating skills? What are some tips that you would suggest? Are there any podcasts that you’d recommend?
Image from Travel Aficionado
