What should you focus on as you prepare for a negotiation?
Recently, the Harvard Project on Negotiation (PON) posited that these five words were essential to know as you start a negotiation:
5 Must-Know Negotiation Words
Interests: The underlying “why” behind a position—what each side truly wants or needs.
Anchor: The first offer made, which can set the tone and range for the negotiation.
Concession: Something one side gives up to de-escalate or resolve a conflict.
Deadlock: A stalemate where neither side is willing to move, which can be a sign to rethink your strategy.
Leverage: The power or influence that one side has to achieve their desired outcome.
Dare I say it: Harvard got it wrong. Well, 80% wrong. I’d agree with one out of their five (Interests).
From my own experience, if I were sharing with someone the five “must-know” negotiation words as they prepared for a negotiation, they would be:
Parties: With whom am I negotiating? How I will prepare for and manage the negotiation is directly affected by the person I am working with. If that person is Vladimir Putin, I will prepare one way. If it is the Dalai Lama, I will prepare a different way. It all starts with “who?”
Interests: What do they “want” as an outcome? What do they need? What do I need? “Want” and “need” are two different concepts. The goal is for both parties to get, at a minimum, what they need. If we don’t know where we’re going, we won’t know when we’ve arrived.
Process: How will we get this done together? What are the deadlines? Goals? Who must say “yes”? Who can say “no”? Can we collaborate on a close plan?
BATNA: “Instead of” this deal, what alternatives do I have and what alternatives do they have? Who cares more?
Legitimacy: The single fastest way for someone to become a more skillful negotiator is to learn how to address legitimacy. When a party proposes something that does not feel “fair,” discussing the issue in that moment is exactly what negotiators do. They don’t say, “I’ll see what I can do” and leave the room. That signals a concession is coming. Seek to understand the source of the ask to test if it is legitimate, or is this just someone asking to see what they can get?
Failing to focus on any one of those five concepts as one prepares can be fatal to the value of the outcome of a deal.
(Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters)
