Professional Negotiation and Influencing Skills (2 Days)

Top 16 Essential Soft Skills for The Future of Work

Overview

Barristers (specialist lawyers) in the UK are excellent negotiators and are experts in influence and persuasion. A large part of this is because they are never concerned with who’s right or wrong. Instead, they seek to understand and address the needs and interests of both parties.

What if our employees can learn to view disagreements with stakeholders as a catalyst for their growth, instead of something to be feared and avoided?

In an era where information is readily available and communications are instantaneous, it’s ironic that we’re losing our ability to build rapport and negotiate effectively with business stakeholders. Indeed, the ability to negotiate and influence others is rapidly becoming an essential competency for any aspiring leader.

When your employees are equipped with a systematic and proven process to negotiate win-win situations with others, they are empowered to be more collaborative and effective. This is because they have the correct tools to present their proposals with impact, and can be confident that they are continuously establishing trust and respect with business stakeholders.

When your employees become effective negotiators and influencers, the benefits to the organization’s profitability are obvious. More importantly, these skills are transferable to other aspects of their work (including the ability to independently make decisions and solve problems). Hence, equipping the employees in your organization with effective negotiation and influence skills should be at the top of your employee development list.

Learning Objectives

This workshop seeks to inculcate into participants through interactive learning, re-writing exercises, and role-playing the skills of professional negotiation and influencing others. At the end of the workshop, participants shall hold in their hands' specific skills, concepts and experiences that can propel themselves and the company toward greater results.

Methodology

Think differently to alter direction.

The experience of learning to read and write for the first time is likely to remain vivid in your memory. The skill is ingrained and it stays. The primary objective of our training and workshop is to make your new knowledge and abilities as durable as the ones you've already accumulated. They foster fresh ideas. They enable great feats. Individual behaviour and attitude contribute to your organization's success is what we prioritise.

Combining experiential, instructional, and discovery learning with current coaching technology promotes profound transformations in attitudes and behaviour that enable sustainable change in your business. These adjustments improve results.

Our programmes involve with 12 unique learning methodology as below:

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants shall be able to:

Start thinking in the other person’s terms and to be empathetic towards the other person’s needs and interests by using the powerful Law of Connection

Understand how interests and needs drive behaviours and decision making (more so than logic and rational thinking)

Hold a basic understanding of the basic negotiation techniques used by Barristers in the UK

Build rapport and obtain the trust of the other party efficiently, and to enter every negotiation or conflict with sincerity, confidence and good will (body language, appreciative language, active listening)

Understand each party’s needs and interests through effective, elegant and diplomatic fact-finding

How to present their proposal with impact, by considering how their proposal can address or meet the other party’s needs and interests

When disagreement cannot be avoided, to carefully understand each party’s needs and interests, be empathetic to what each party perceives to be the root cause of the conflict

Admit fault gracefully and elegantly when they are in the wrong

Diffuse any interfering emotions (their own or the other party’s)

Use the best ways to influence, or convince other people, knowing that we make conclusions based on our individual premises (facts, observations, experience, assumptions)

Negotiation techniques for getting past "No"

Lead the solution finding process, and the importance of letting the other party feel that they had the largest part in coming up with the solution

Listing down, selecting and documenting the agreed solution between the parties

Maintaining a strong and trusted relationship regardless of the outcome of the negotiation

Learning Outline

MODULE 1: Fundamental Rules of Negotiation and Influencing Others

An introduction to the Law of Connection: that people don’t care about the merits or advantages of our argument. Instead, speaking directly to the other party’s needs is a much more effective way to win them over to our way of thinking
Understand how interests and needs drive behaviours and decision making (more so than logic and rational thinking)
An introduction to the three persuasion / negotiation styles as a Barrister: The Competitive Style, the Cooperative Style, and the Collaborative Style

MODULE 2: Getting Clear on Your Own Goals and Objectives

Why we often fail at influencing or negotiating with others when our own objectives and goals are unclear, and how this is detrimental to the negotiation / influencing process
The importance of starting with the “Whys” when negotiating / influencing others
Carefully considering the interests and needs of both parties and why audience centric thinking (design thinking) is so impactful and effective for negotiators
Role-Play exercises: putting participants in realistic training scenarios to master and utilize the techniques learnt, in a step-by-step and systematic approach

MODULE 3: Connecting with the Other Party and Building Rapport Effortlessly

All around the world, and especially in Asian culture, we try to get the buy in the other party by apologizing – in truth, these unnecessary apologies greatly hurt our chances of a successful negotiation
A deeper dive into understanding body language, and why it is more important to observe and maintain our own ideal body language instead of reading others
The crucial skill of helping others feel important – why Active Listening is a key component to building trust and respect with anyone
How appreciation helps us go into every negotiation full of confidence, energy and good will
How Positive Reinforcement is absolutely vital in putting the other party in a receptive mood
Why criticism and complaints are awfully risky, and why it erodes other people’s trust and respect for us
Role-Play exercises: putting participants in realistic training scenarios to master and utilize the techniques learnt, in a step-by-step and systematic approach, especially in terms of projecting good body language and confidence

MODULE 4: Establishing the Other Party’s Needs and Active Listening

How to steer conversation into a consultative discussion subtly and effectively
Ask the correct questions through empathetic communication – how to seek out, and listen actively to the other party’s values, fears and needs. Participants will be trained how not to project their own assumptions onto the other party
Understand each party’s needs and interests through effective, elegant and diplomatic fact-finding
Role-Play exercises: putting participants in realistic training scenarios to master and utilize the techniques learnt, in a step-by-step and systematic approach

MODULE 5: Linking the Merits of Our Proposal to the Other Party’s Needs and Interests

Participants need to consider how their proposal can address or meet the other party’s needs and interests, taking into consideration their emotional needs
Participants will be taught the perfect anatomy of an ideal negotiation proposal, including showing how their proposal meets the other party’s needs, value generation, social proof and the “Ask”
Reinforce their proposal’s effectiveness by way of storytelling / re-telling past positive outcomes and experiences
Role-Play exercises: putting participants in realistic training scenarios to master and utilize the techniques learnt, in a step-by-step and systematic approach

MODULE 6: Taking Feedback Positively and Respecting Each Party’s Needs, Interests and Opinions

Study the connection between thoughts and feelings, and why mental discipline and managing our emotions / stress are the keys to becoming effective negotiators. Learn not to take feedback or criticism personally
Never tell the other party, “You’re wrong,” as it arouses great opposition and resistance
Put the other party at ease and identify the issues. Be clear about what each party perceives to be the root of the problem, and check for understanding
Present to the other party the consequences of not fixing what you perceive to be the problem (how the problem will get worse and worse)
Address tough questions or challenges in a convincing manner
Put ourselves, honestly and sincerely, in the other party’s shoes. See things from the other party’s point of view and share your appreciation with them
Progress the narrative. If we are wrong, admit it quickly and enthusiastically. Make it easy for the other party to be in an understanding and forgiving mood
Role-Play exercises: putting participants in realistic training scenarios to master and utilize the techniques learnt, in a step-by-step and systematic approach

MODULE 7: Diffusing Emotions, Changing Minds and Techniques for Getting Past "No"

Learn to diffuse tense situations and interfering emotions. Always assume that the other party has a noble motive (assume the best)
A mandatory understanding on how personal experience, observations, assumptions and beliefs affect our conclusions
The best ways to influence, or convince the other party, knowing that we make conclusions based on our individual premises (facts, observations, experience, assumptions)
Techniques for getting past “No” and deadlocks
Get the other party by saying “Yes, yes” (agreeing) as soon as possible. Always begin each interaction by emphasizing the things on which you agree, and that you have the same goal. It is extremely challenging to overcome an early “No”
Make suggestions using effective and sincere language, and let the other party feel that the idea is theirs (guide the other party towards a common goal)
When all fails, the role of throwing a challenge to the other party
Maintaining a strong and trusted relationship regardless of the outcome of the negotiation
Role-Play exercises: putting participants in realistic training scenarios to master and utilize the techniques learnt, in a step-by-step and systematic approach

MODULE 8: Coming to an Agreement and Enforcement of the Agreement

List down all the possible solutions and evaluate them against each party’s needs
Select a viable solution together. Map out and consider all possible consequences before committing to the solution
Document the agreement for clarity and to avoid future conflict
Consider how to resolve possible contingencies / failures, and whether future analysis and adjustment is necessary