Negotiation skills is a scary subject to most people. I have met managers from various industries across India and the middle East and few if any believe that they have negotiation skills.
I’ve had some who say that they just hate it, and some who think its ungentlemanly to negotiate.
Often there is one person in the office who is designated to have negotiation skills.
He is not normally well liked by the office.
So what is it about negotiation skills that makes everyone weak in the knees.
Part of the problem comes from the Hollywood movies. Wall housewife and such movies show men with negotiation skills to be cold evil and merciless. Yet in everyday life, we are faced with situations that call for negotiation skills. Be it a housewife, a student, a teenager or someone retired, everyone needs negotiation skills.
Just as communication skills scare people, negotiation skills leave them drained. Even if you never get to be a great communicator, it is always possible to be an effective communicator. The came is true of negotiation skills. You may never end up being the Wolf of Wall Street but you may be able to understand what you need to do if you faced one.
People with an ability to be creative and imagine new solutions have an advantage where negotiation skills are concerned. More than anything else, you know when you are being pushed, you know when you must fold up, and most of all, when to walk away.
It is necessary to have some level of negotiation skills to be able to survive in this world. What is more fascinating is that even though we may not consciously plan to develop our negotiation skills we subtly are drawn into doing so literally from the cradle to the grave. Even infants without knowing the logic, definitely the power of being adept at negotiation skills. This happens when they are able to get what they want be it milk or sleep before they can utter a single recognizable sound.
At school, teachers and scholars are also constantly using negotiations skills to an optimum level as they try to communicate, excel, compete, win or defeat. So negotiation skills can be learnt, acquired, pruned and perfected. It simply requires one to understand the process of negotiation. Knowing that equips the manager to handle negotiations. And as you practice more, your negotiation skills become more reliable and you can be more confident.
