The Art of Negotiation

Coaching is a powerful tool for an individualís growth, a catalyst for transformation. It can be seen as a style of facilitation or management as it takes the best of consulting, mentoring and even therapy on occasions. It is all about results as it is results orientated and enables an individual business to grow, transform behaviour and adapt successful actions to increase productivity, market share and performance.

Essentially coaching is a dialogue between coach and client. The coach assists, supports and encourages the client to ask themselves the right questions, to lead them to their goals. They will then clarify points, put things into perspective and help to develop strategies to take actions.

Clients follow a journey of self-development, identifying whatís been holding them back, what patterns of behaviour need to be changed, what roadblocks need to be tackled, as well as what insights are needed. The coach and the client develop a special collaborative synergy, which moves the client forward much more easily and quickly than by themselves. The journey works through obstacles, self-sabotaging and limiting beliefs to develop and encourage the individualís best and optimum results for the organisation. Developing more competent, effective, productive, focused individuals.

Business coaching has become increasingly popular with business recognising the benefits advantages and applications of coaching to help navigate through constant changes and demands of the modern workplace. In fact Business and Corporate Coaching is becoming to be seen as critical to support individual and team development, to develop new opportunities and directions in customer care and satisfaction as well as mastering leadership and negotiation skills, these are only some of the areas in which coaching is applied.

Negotiation is one of the key areas in which coaching is frequently applied, as effective negotiation skills are a crucial factor in the survival, development and success of any business. To be able to negotiate effectively is a competency of top grade performers incorporating important skills including being informed and knowledgeable about the competitive environment, market and trade dynamics as well as productive services. Further skills include contributing to the strategic efforts of the team and having a vision to predict where the organisation is heading and aiming to go over the next few years.

It is essential to be thoroughly prepared for the negotiation situation and be well informed about the other party, their needs, negotiation style and vulnerabilities.

Even though one can be prepared for the negotiation, it can still be very stressful and difficult. The main areas that can influence our negotiation are emotion, as when emotion sets in it can effect our judgement and our mind can become clouded, as a consequence we are unable to process information efficiently. This can result in unnecessary compromises and even negotiation failure.

There can be a tendency to capitulate by trying too hard to please and accommodate, or if the client is placing too much pressure as a result of changes in the market condition. There can be polarisation of personalities when both negotiators believe that they are in the right and are unable to hear each otherís opinions.

It is clear that there are a number of common obstacles to successful negotiation. These include fear; this is inherent in everyone at one level or another and can influence the negotiation. The fear of losing can lead to aggressive body language and posture as well as ending up making unnecessary concessions.

Excessive talking due to nervousness, or the need to dominate and control the situation would have a negative impact on the negotiation; this could also include a lack of appreciation and empathy towards the person. Also, negotiation would be much more successful if the personality and negotiation style of the person could be matched, as a flexible style creates a positive situation.

A lack of understanding, knowledge and preparation of the other personís needs, market and position would hinder the negotiation and bargaining potential. Other obstacles are acting in an emotional manner as opposed to using logic and rational as well as closed mindedness. Through coaching, such obstacles can be overcome and a model is used to aid negotiation, which isolates certain personal skills crucial to a successful outcome. Of personal skills the three most critical for negotiation are self-awareness, emotional competence and communication skills.

It is important to explore through the process of coaching, the attitude of an individual to negotiation and how this contributes and obstructs successful negotiation. Is the individual usually co-operative, competitive or adaptable in a negotiating role? As the space where successful negotiation occurs is where trust can be built, a supportive environment, which is relaxed and co-operative.

Individuals need to be aware of their negotiation philosophy and reactive style; what is it? Competitive, compromising, accommodating, aggressive, tense, demanding etc.

Coaching explores and facilitates self-knowledge and awareness and jointly and collaboratively develops strategies to enhance, minimise and develop effective negotiation styles.

Neurolinguistic programming techniques can be applied and through exercises within coaching sessions can be applied to negotiation situations. As this would enable an individual to assess, appreciate and understand the style of the other party involved in the negotiation as well as being to use NLP techniques to match the other personís pace, emotions and language.

In coaching for negotiation skills the coach works with the client to overcome and develop emotional control as with emotional control the negotiation will run smoothly and obtain better results as it would be conducted in a rational manner. One key area to work on would be to separate his or her ego from the product or object of negotiation.

Communication is another salient feature in a negotiation context, being able to build a rapport quickly, effectively and honestly is a vital negotiation skill. Through a number of non-verbal signals, the stage can be set for a constructive, positive and relaxed environment. Areas that are examined and are vital in negotiation setting are listening skills, questioning skills, the use of silence, how an individual uses their voice ñ pitch, tone, pace and rhythm.

Viraj Yadav
Corporate Therapist
Viraj Yadav - Bio
Viraj has studied up to Masters degree level and has a firm background in psychology, including areas in counselling and therapy, social psychology, cognitive and developmental psychology. He is also a graduate member of the British Psychological Society.
Working principally in training, project management and therapy on a one-to-one or group basis, Viraj has always concentrated on making a difference to peopleís lives by helping them release their full potential. His background has included setting up in-house training at local government and corporate level, funding and marketing, staff motivation, assertion, health and stress management.

Clients who have sought Virajís expertise have very high expectations of themselves and set unrealistic goals. They come to him with a variety of problems encompassing relationship issues, sexuality, weight loss, phobias, fitness, career path, motivation, alcohol and drug dependency. All of his clients have successfully moved forward and now enjoy a better life.

Viraj has been coaching for two years and currently he can be heard live on Star FM in Cambridge where he takes calls and offers advice and support to listeners during an open surgery. He has also expressed his creativity through working in the media, both through television presenting and producing programmes of a lifestyle, political and social nature. Moreover, he has recently completed his first book entitled ìThe Beginningî which looks at bereavement, grief and loss from a psychological, spiritual and a therapeutic perspective.

Viraj always has a positive attitude to life and strongly believes in continually working on his own development and overcoming obstacles that he has personally experienced in his own life. Virajís strengths come from listening to his clients' needs and helping them to help themselves. His commitment to assist his clients achieve their goals is second to none.