Are you an experienced negotiator, but you sometimes feel you’re going round in circles? Do you find it difficult to reach agreements that satisfy all parties? The key to success may lie in developing your soft skills. Unlike hard skills, which are technical skills, soft skills are personal and interpersonal skills – some innate, some acquired – that often make a difference in negotiations. Whether it’s communication, empathy, flexibility or self-confidence, these skills are essential to creating a climate of trust, understanding the needs of the other party and finding win-win solutions.
In this blog post, we explore the soft skills that are essential for negotiators and give you practical advice on how to develop them. Whether you’re an experienced professional or a novice in the art of negotiation, these techniques will help you improve your results and secure the most advantageous deals.
Ready to move up a gear? Follow the guide!
Communication: the negotiator’s compass
Communication is essential for negotiators. You must spend time mastering it, to enable you to clearly express your expectations and objectives, understand the needs of the other party and maintain a constructive relationship. Here are some tips to improve your communication skills:
- Listen actively: Be attentive to the needs and expectations of the other party.
- Express yourself clearly: Use simple, precise language to convey your messages.
- Adapt to the audience: Take notice of cultural differences and communication styles to adapt your approach.
Empathy: a fundamental pillar
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings and experiences of others. In the right proportions, it helps to create a relationship of trust and find more effective solutions. To strengthen your empathy:
- Practise active listening: Be attentive to the feelings and needs of the other party.
- Be open and curious: Ask open-ended questions to understand the other party’s point of view.
- Be understanding: Acknowledge the other party’s feelings and experiences.
Flexibility: being prepared for the unexpected
Negotiations often take unexpected turns, whether due to new information, last-minute changes or unforeseen disagreements. In these situations, the ability to adapt quickly and adjust your strategy accordingly makes all the difference. To develop your flexibility:
- Be open to change: Be ready to adapt your strategies to new situations.
- Be flexible on details: Don’t be afraid to compromise on minor points to reach an overall agreement.
- Be prepared to make concessions: You can’t win on everything, and this will help you reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
Imagine, for example, that you are negotiating the terms of a contract with a partner. Just when you think you’ve reached an agreement, the other party suddenly makes a new demand that calls everything into question. Remain calm, listen carefully to the other party’s concerns and propose creative alternatives to find a mutually acceptable solution.
Creativity: thinking outside the box
In many negotiation situations, conventional solutions are not enough. To stand out from the crowd and reach the best agreements, it is essential to be creative and propose innovative options.
Let’s say that you have to renegotiate the terms of a contract with a service provider. Instead of limiting yourself to the usual parameters such as price or lead times, you could think about more flexible payment formulas, value-added services or mutually beneficial long-term collaborations. This creative approach would enable both parties to differentiate themselves from the competition and reach a more advantageous agreement through value creation.
Decision-making in three stages: analysis, judgement and composure, then action
The ability to make informed decisions and solve problems effectively is an essential soft skill for negotiators. In a negotiation context, where the stakes are often high and the situations complex, this skill can make all the difference.
- Analyse information and evaluate options
A good negotiator knows how to take the time to analyse the information available in detail before making a decision. They gather the relevant data, and evaluate the different options and their potential consequences. This structured approach enables them to make well-considered choices, rather than rushing to the first solution that comes along. For example, when negotiating a contract, you will seek to fully understand the needs and constraints of the other party. You will then examine the different options, deadlines and constraints, as well as the contractual and financial terms and conditions, before proposing an offer that best meets everyone’s expectations and interests. - Use your judgement and keep your cool
In certain negotiation situations the pressure can be high, and emotions can get the better of you. A good negotiator knows how to remain calm and discerning, even in the face of unexpected events, tension or major disagreements.Let’s imagine that you are facing an unexpected request from the other party, calling into question the terms of the agreement previously discussed. Instead of getting angry or sticking to your guns, you should take time to analyse the situation, listen carefully to the other party’s arguments and propose alternative solutions. This ability to keep a cool head and find constructive compromises is essential not only to reach an agreement that satisfies both parties, but also to preserve the quality of the relationship. - And … make the decision!
Self-confidence: an asset of the negotiator
Self-confidence is essential because it enables the negotiator to maintain a firm position, not to be influenced by external pressures and to conclude advantageous agreements.
Being sure of your skills
A confident negotiator is aware of their strengths and weaknesses. They will highlight their strengths, such as their business expertise or their ability to find creative solutions, while being honest about their limitations. This self-confidence enables them to approach negotiations with equanimity and to not be thrown off balance by the tactics of the other party.
For example, during a negotiation, you will not hesitate to firmly defend your positions on key points, such as particular technical specifications or unacceptable limiting conditions. You will also be able to recognise when it is preferable to make concessions on secondary aspects to preserve the essential.
Daring to take risks
The best negotiations often involve taking calculated risks. A confident negotiator will not hesitate to think outside the box and propose innovative options, even if they involve a degree of uncertainty. This boldness enables them to stand out from their counterparts – or even competitors – and secure more advantageous agreements.
Let’s imagine that you have to renegotiate a contract with a long-standing partner. Instead of limiting yourself to the usual parameters, you could propose an ambitious long-term partnership formula, with financial incentives linked to performance. Although risky, this approach could create value for both parties and secure the relationship over the long term.
By developing active listening, emotional intelligence, adaptability, persuasive communication and self-confidence, you can significantly improve your results and reach mutually beneficial agreements.
We strongly recommend that you pay particular attention to developing these skills. Take the time to train yourself. Practise regularly and think about how you can put these skills into practice in your next negotiations. With practice and perseverance, these skills will become a major asset in your negotiating arsenal.
Remember that negotiation is an art that can be learned. By concentrating on these non-technical skills, you will not only be able to improve the quality of your agreements so that they are more satisfactory to all stakeholders, you will also develop the quality of long-term relationships with your counterparts.
Setting yourself apart by creating a climate of trust and building good-quality relationships is the most effective way of securing your long-term partnerships. This will increase the solidity of the agreements you reach, to everyone’s benefit – whether it’s your internal contacts or any other stakeholder you have to negotiate with.
In our next article, we will explore the dynamics between intuition and logic within the context of negotiation. This seemingly incompatible combination of concepts can lead to innovative and effective solutions, surpassing the limits of each approach taken individually.
You will discover how the best negotiators know how to balance these two essential aspects, using their intuition to grasp the subtleties of the situation and their logical reasoning to structure their strategy. Together, intuition and logic form a powerful synergy, making it possible to navigate with agility through the complex challenges of negotiation.
Want to know more?
If you are interested in learning more about the topics of Soft Skills and Negotiations, please have a look at our previous blogs and upcoming Negotiation Marathon:
The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors and not necessarily those of EIPA.
