Learning Unit 1 : What is Negotiation?

Negotiation is a process of bargaining in which two parties, who each have something that the other wants, try to reach an agreement to exchange on mutually accepted terms.

Negotiation Skills: explains this principle and process of exchange. It, thus, prepares you to act (exchange) with confidence and tact to reach a win-win result, a mutually acceptable outcome. Communication means dialogue between two or more people.

Everyday Example of Negotiation:

• A brother and a sister debating on the choice of a movie
• Two friends trying to settle the amount for which one wants to sell his old car to the other.
• Two sisters fighting over how a box of chocolates to be divided between them.

Gerard I. Nierenberg in his book The Fundamental of Negotiating (1973) has given the following examples of negotiating process and situations:

• Two Children squabbling over dividing an apple
• A manager making a suggestion to his superior
• A salesman trying to arrange an appointment with a prospective customer.