In the world of international business, negotiation is an essential ingredient in getting things done. Sometimes we may be conducting big, complex negotiations such as mergers and acquisitions, while on a day-to-day basis it underlies all business-to-business transactions. Internally, companies negotiate budgets, HR issues and the best policy strategies.

Most business people negotiate reasonably well. But they generally don’t fully comprehend the psychological underpinnings of negotiation and how to use this knowledge to get the best results – not only to meet their own objectives, but also to achieve outcomes that will satisfy their counterparts.

Negotiation is not a competitive sport where the sole objective is to win. This approach may produce satisfying results some of the time, but it may also lead to missed opportunities that a more cooperative approach could yield.

This short masterclass has been designed to take participants beyond what they do instinctively, and give them the concepts, tools, and techniques to plan and conduct much more successful negotiations.

Program:

08.30 – 09.00
Registration, coffee, networking

09.00 – 10.30
What every negotiator needs to do better

• Decision-Making: Human beings are hard-wired to make less than optimal decisions. In this short session, participants will learn how to avoid traps that can lead to poor choices during negotiations.

• Persuasion and Influence: Good negotiators need to be effective at persuading counterparts on the other side of the negotiating table. This lively session will draw on the works of Aristotle the latest research.

10.30 – 10.45
Coffee Break

10.45 – 12.30

• Key principals of Negotiation – an explanatory framework. The fundamentals of reciprocity and interests-based negotiations, differentiating between claiming and creating value so that both parties can achieve positive and implementable outcomes.
• Further development of negotiation principles and strategies for success – Building on the key lessons already learned, this interactive teaching session will introduce further strategies and techniques, tied in to the earlier discussion of decision-making and persuasion.

12.30 – 13.30
Lunch

Optional afternoon session led by Tim Cullen and Ning Wang

13.30 – 14.30

• Negotiating Internationally – Taking as an example, a country where the culture is very different, this session will look at factors that affect the way Chinese negotiators behave, which often worry Swedish and other Western executives. It will serve to illustrate how sensitivity to other cultures is essential in all international negotiations.

Tim Cullen is Director of the Oxford Programme on Negotiation at the University of Oxford, and has taught negotiation in more than 25 countries with special expertise from working in China and Asia.

Ning Wang is a member of the Oxford Programme on Negotiation tutoring team at the Said Business School, University of Oxford.