Eight critical mistakes in negotiation

The Marana Consulting Group, in partnership with the Institute of Public Administration Australia NSW, has identified eight critical mistakes that are commonly made in negotiations.

Interestingly, several of these mistakes are the reverse image of Howard Raiffa’s 34 characteristics of an effective negotiator. For example, Raiffa cites planning and preparation as the number one characteristic of a successful negotiator and here, inadequate preparation is listed as the #1 critical mistake that can be made.

‘Talking too much and listening too little’ and ‘impatience’ are listed as critical mistakes while Raiffa lists ‘patience’ and ‘listening skill’ in the top 10 of his effective negotiator characteristics.

The two lists definitely highlight some common characteristics to employ and some to avoid the next time you enter into a negotiation.


Eight critical mistakes in negotiation

1.       Inadequate preparation

Preparation provides a good picture of your options and allows for planned flexibility at the crunch points.

 

2.       Ignoring the Give/Get principle

Each party needs to conclude the negotiation feeling something has been gained. 

3.       Use of intimidating behaviour

Research shows that the tougher the tactics, the tougher the resistance. Persuasiveness not dominance makes for a more effective outcome.

4.       Impatience

Give ideas and proposals time to work. Don’t rush things; patience pays.

5.       Loss of temper

Strong negative emotions are a deterrent to developing a co-operative environment and creating solutions

6.       Talking too much and listening too little

“If you love to listen, you will gain knowledge, and if you incline your ear, you will become wise.” – Sirach

7.       Arguing instead of influencing

Your position can be best explained by education, not stubbornness.

8.       Ignoring conflict

Conflict is the substance of negotiation. Learn to accept and resolve it, not avoid it.

To read the complete list of Howard Raiffa’s 34 characteristics of an effective negotiator click here.

To find out more about the training courses offered by the Institute of Public Administration Australia click here.

Hugh Mackay’s 10 Laws of Communication

In his book, The Good Listener, Hugh Mackay outlines 10 Laws of Communication. He highlights that people are more likely to listen to what you’re saying if the subject interests them or is something that is directly relevant to their circumstances. That a bit of a no brainer in my opinion.

Another point Mackay makes is that people are more likely to listen to you if you first listen to them. While this seems obvious, it’s an easy notion to forget. If we don’t demonstrate that we are equally interested in what the other party to the discussion is saying, they’re likely to dismiss both us and our comments.

For your review ….

The 10 Laws of Communication:

1.     It is what the listener does with our message that determines our success as communicators.

2.     Listeners interpret messages in ways which make them feel comfortable and secure.

3.     When people’s attitudes are attacked head-on, they are likely to defend those attitudes and, in the process, reinforce them.

4.     People pay most attention to messages which are relevant to their own circumstances and point of view.

5.     People who feel insecure in a relationship are unlikely to be good listeners.

6.     People are more likely to listen if we listen to them.

7.     People are more likely to change in response to a combination of new experience and communication than in response to communication alone.

8.     People are more likely to support a change which affects them if they are consulted before the change is made.

9.     The message in what is said will be interpreted in the light of how, when, where and by whom it is said.

10.  Lack of self-knowledge and an unwillingness to resolve our own internal conflicts make it harder for us to communicate with other people.

Not your traditional complaint platform

When I was travelling home from work recently I came across an article in the commuter newspaper about an online forum where disgruntled people write anonymous notes to their neighbours airing their gripes. While this is not the most traditional forum to complain in, it does allow aggrieved residents to let their neighbours know that Princess, the Persian cat, is not so cute when she is scratching up their new outdoor furniture.

This process of getting the matter off your chest is an important step in complaint resolution. One of the most commonly heard customer service complaints is ‘they just won’t listen to me’. Complainants need to have the opportunity to voice their concerns and to feel heard. Online forums are becoming an easy and anonymous medium for people to air their grievances, particularly when they are not yet ready to discuss the matter with the other party. It’s not surprising then that online complaint forums are becoming more and more popular. Business would do well to think about how they are going to address complaints aired in this manner.

I’ve selected a few of the disgruntled neighbour notes for you to read below. If you’d like to read more of the complaint notes for yourself, check out the website HappyPlace.com

 

Thoughts about the 34 characteristics of an effective negotiator

Generally when people think of a negotiation they think of two people taking extreme positions and then compromising until they reach a point somewhere roughly in the middle. This is true of most negotiations in business in Australia. In order to be effective in this type of negotiation, the two parties generally need to be able to postulate and engage standover tactics to make their opposition whimper into submission. Interestingly, in Howard Raiffa’s 34 characteristics of an effective negotiator from my last post, the willingness to employ force, threat or bluff ranks right down the bottom of his list.

Not surprisingly, the ability to persuade others ranks in the top ten at #8; however previous negotiating experience ranks at #19. Open-mindedness ranks at #21 and this too is something that shows the stand-over tactics most commonly employed in boardroom negotiations may not be the most effective way to approach these types of discussions.

The ability to think clearly and rapidly under pressure and uncertainty makes it into #3 and I agree with Raiffa on this point. I do find it interesting though that status or rank in organisation is down at #27. It may serve some businesses well to realise that their ‘top dog’ may not be their best negotiator and this could also be a confidence boost for the ‘underdog’ in a negotiation to know that their rank in the hierarchy of things really isn’t that important.

Raiffa’s list made me reconsider the characteristics of an effective negotiator that I previously held in high esteem. If this list was more widely reviewed then perhaps boardroom negotiations might be more successful then they currently are.