Negotiation - free course from 4brain, training 30 days, Date: December 1, 2023.

Business communication can be characterized as a special process of interaction and interconnection between people, which is characterized by the exchange of knowledge, information and experience. This process involves achieving specific goals, solving certain problems and implementing planned plans.

Conventionally, business communication consists of two components - this is direct communication, i.e. direct contact between people, and indirect communication, which is characterized by the presence of a spatio-temporal distance between opponents. As a rule, direct business communication is most effective, because it is characterized emotional influence and suggestion, in other words, it involves socio-psychological mechanisms.

Business communication differs from everyday communication in that it is characterized by setting goals and specific results that need to be achieved, tasks that need to be solved. In the process of business communication, a person in most cases does not have the opportunity to stop his interaction with an opponent overnight and without any losses. Everyday communication, in turn, does not involve setting goals, and it can be interrupted at any time.

Among the forms of business communication there are business conversations, meetings, speeches and negotiations. And negotiations are its main form.

Negotiations can be characterized as a business interaction between two or more people, the purpose of which is to find mutually beneficial solutions to certain problems and tasks. People have to negotiate throughout almost their entire lives - in all cases where it is necessary to come to an agreement, exchange promises and obligations, etc.

Usually negotiations take place in the form of a conversation, the main topic of which is the representatives for interlocutors (negotiating parties) are interested in questions, and the task of negotiations is to establish cooperation ties.

But negotiations may differ in goals. Thus, they can be aimed at concluding contracts, carrying out certain work, reaching an agreement on cooperation, resolving conflicts, etc. And the parties to the negotiations wish to reach mutual agreements on issues in which their interests collide, and to adequately withstand confrontation that may arise in the negotiation process.

But in order to skillfully negotiate, any person must have certain skills, namely:

• Must be able to solve problems
• Must be able to interact with other people
• You need to be able to manage your emotions

It should also be taken into account that people with different negotiating experience, different personal characteristics and education may meet at the negotiating table.

Based on this fairly large variety of features, some negotiations may be radically different from others. In some cases, negotiations proceed relatively easily, while in others they are extremely tense; in some cases, opponents can agree without problems, but in others, finding mutual understanding and common ground can be very difficult. And all this suggests that negotiation skills need to be learned.

Due to the relevance of the topic of negotiations at the present time, we have developed this special course on training in negotiations. From it you will learn as much information as you need to master this difficult, but very useful and important skill. The course includes both theoretical and practical information, tested by more than one generation of negotiators. But we will introduce you not only to it, but also to a number of additional materials - books on negotiation, the authors of which are professional negotiators and masters of communication.

Fundamentals and specifics of business communication

As we have already said, business communication should be distinguished from everyday communication. The main distinctive features of business communication are:

• Setting goals and objectives
• Drawing up an action plan
• Defining and choosing a strategy
• Defining and choosing tactics
• Achieving a specific result

Setting goals and objectives involves the establishment by each of the participants in the negotiation process (in individually and jointly) specific results that can and should be achieved through negotiations This is precisely why negotiations are held, otherwise there would be no point in them, or they would become ordinary everyday communication for the purpose of exchanging information.

Drawing up an action plan is necessary so that each of the opponents knows exactly what steps need to be taken to achieve their goals and solve problems. Each point of the plan can also be designed to achieve intermediate goals. Both the plan itself and the intermediate goals can be called a negotiation map, focusing on which you can clearly see at what stage the achievement of the result is and whether it is being achieved at all.

Defining and choosing a strategy means determining a method of action, a general, non-detailed plan for achieving set result, which covers the entire time period during which the negotiation. Strategy can also be called a way to achieve a goal and a model of behavior that the negotiator will adhere to in the negotiation process.

Determining and choosing tactics involves choosing an integral part of the negotiation process, which includes theoretical and practical aspects of preparing and conducting negotiations through the use of specific methods and techniques. Negotiation methods and techniques, in turn, can and should vary, depending on the characteristics of each specific stage of the negotiation process. Tactics include research, development, preparation and implementation of all components of negotiations: expressing one’s position, using arguments (for the purpose of attack and defense), using counterarguments and etc.

It is also interesting that you must have both strategy and tactics. If you only have tactics, then the result can be achieved, but this result itself will be unknown. And if you have only one strategy, then you will know what result you need, but you will not have ways to achieve it.

Achieving a specific result is the finale of the entire negotiation process, because It is for this reason that he organizes. All that can be said here is that the result can be both achievement and failure to achieve the goal. If no result was achieved during the negotiation process, then the negotiations are inconclusive - this situation is considered the worst of all possible.

How to apply negotiation knowledge in practice?

Negotiation skills can be called one of the most necessary for a person living in modern society. Moreover, it can be useful not only to those whose professional activities are related to communication, but also to people who very rarely encounter official negotiations. Even quite ordinary everyday interactions with others at a certain moment may require us to be able to negotiate and find compromises and mutually beneficial solutions: these can be situations when you need to settle a controversial issue, resolve a conflict, haggle to bring down the price, just keep up the conversation, etc. But, of course, the main area of ​​application of negotiator skills is business sphere.

Meetings, business conversations with colleagues, managers and subordinates, meetings with business partners to discuss business or conclude contracts, employment interviews to work, etc. – all these are cases where a person simply cannot do without the ability to communicate competently, achieve mutual understanding, find compromises and mutually beneficial solutions.

If a person is able to find common interests and common ground with other people, truly enormous prospects open up before him. The ability to negotiate allows you to achieve goals, ranging from very small to vital ones, and advance your career. stairs, get out of difficult situations with your head held high, establish contacts with the right people, make friends and acquaintances Often this skill comes in handy in your personal life, because, for example, in a family you also often have to negotiate. All this allows us to conclude that negotiator skills can be useful to a person always and everywhere.

Negotiations, no matter what area of ​​life they concern, should always be carried out very carefully and carefully. This process consists not only of direct communication, but also of other components. It includes preparation, collection of information, development of flexibility of thinking and behavior, learning to manage emotions and other elements. To put it somewhat differently, the development of negotiation skills also affects other aspects of personality development and individual qualities. And for this process to be truly effective and correct, you need to understand how negotiation can be learned.

How to learn this?

We all know very well that we are taught to learn to speak and communicate from an early age. This is done first by parents, and then by school teachers and other people with whom we have to interact. Initially, we can be instilled with such qualities as politeness and tact, explained decency and rules of good manners. But we have to figure out how to negotiate, establish contacts with people, and find mutually beneficial solutions on our own. And for some this is relatively easy, which may depend on character, temperament, upbringing environment and social circle, while others may experience quite serious difficulties, for example, due to one’s psychological softness, shyness or inability to defend a point vision. But, to be honest, it doesn’t really matter - if you know how to listen and speak, then you can learn to negotiate. I would only like to note that learning to negotiate is not only possible, but also necessary, and this especially applies to those who experience any problems in interpersonal interactions.

If you are thinking about how you can master negotiation skills, then immediately accept the fact that for For this you do not need to have an extraordinary mind, any specific qualities or receive additional education. All you need is to find someone who can teach you and has all the information necessary to do so. But, given that you can easily learn everything yourself, all you have to do is find knowledge, and we will provide you with such knowledge through this course. And if you have a desire to learn, you can start doing it right now.

But before you start taking this negotiation course, we want to briefly tell you about its features, and to begin with, let’s say that it is represented by two components - theoretical and practical:

• Theoretical component – this is the information base on the basis of which the entire course is compiled. This information is taken from reliable sources (books, articles and interviews with professional specialists with many years of experience in negotiations), properly studied and adapted
• Practical component – this is the material that is designed for use by you in your daily life and activities. Remember: this part is the most important, because... it represents the foundation on which your success will be built, regardless of the area of ​​application of the skill

We would like, among other things, to draw your attention to the fact that, despite the fact that almost everyone fully understands that all results depend on practice, many people strive to master and remember the theory as best as possible, thereby turning themselves into “ineffective know-it-all." Such people can answer any question on a given topic, but nothing they know has ever been applied by them in life. And it is here that you must understand once and for all that both theory and practice are an integral complement to each other, because without knowledge we will never would know what to do (unless, of course, we want to act by trial and error), and without action, everything that we know, strictly speaking, has no meaning sense.

It is with all these nuances in mind that we sought to create a training course that would harmoniously combine both theory and practice, and will not allow you to lose motivation for the final completion course. The material, which you will very soon begin to get acquainted with, is accompanied by examples, recommendations, tips, descriptions of various cases and situations, and all this information can be easily applied by you after the first lesson.

How to take classes?

The framework that guides you through this course will have a huge impact on how you learn the material and what results you ultimately achieve. The topic of negotiations is very specific and, of course, cannot be called easy to study. Despite this, we, as already mentioned, created this course of lessons in such a way that the theoretical and practical foundations were given to you quickly and easily. Naturally, we do not have the opportunity to complete the course for you, and therefore we strongly recommend that you create an individual schedule of classes, and you should focus on practical instructions.

First of all, it is worth noting that studying the material will be more effective if you systematize it, breaking it down into specific stages. A good option, it seems to us, could be the following: one day you study one lesson, marking the most important points for yourself, on the second day you repeat the learned material based on what you have done notes. Then you can take a day off and try to apply what you've learned to situations in your life. After that, you continue to study the second, third and all subsequent lessons in the same way, gradually introducing more and more techniques and recommendations into practice. Based on this plan, it will take you three weeks to study the entire course.

But this lesson plan, of course, is not mandatory for you. It is quite clear that you have your own affairs and concerns, which means you have every right to organize your activities in a way that is convenient for you personally. The only thing I would like to draw your attention to again is that you should strive enrich your daily life by applying the practical tips and techniques you learn about from the course. You can use some when communicating with family members, some when communicating with work colleagues, some when communicating with strangers, etc. The acquisition of skills and their development can only be achieved in this way. Remember this, and the result will not take long to arrive!