The main goal of any negotiation is to reach an agreement. To convince the interlocutor that it is extremely beneficial for him to conclude a formal agreement with you, communication skills alone are not enough. When communicating with a partner, it is important to show tact, politeness, patience, awareness of the issues discussed and other components of the dialogue.
The main goal of any negotiation is to reach an agreement. To convince the interlocutor that it is extremely beneficial for him to conclude a formal agreement with you, communication skills alone are not enough. When communicating with a partner, it is important to show tact, politeness, patience, awareness of the issues discussed and other components of the dialogue.
Starting to build a dialogue, figure out what kind of person is in front of you, what are his inclinations, and what psychotype he belongs to. Get him in the right place, or at least convince him that you are strongly interested in reaching agreement.
For most of the interlocutors, especially for the fair sex, jokes, sincere compliments and warm words addressed to the interlocutor help to get rid of psychological stress at the beginning of the conversation. Compliments to men may not always play a positive role, but a kind word is always appropriate.
Based on this assessment of the psychological characteristics of the interlocutor, you can start a dialogue without an introduction, with a direct approach. An alternative to this approach can be a clue method - using an anecdote, a personal impression, or a capacious metaphor. This will help spark interest in the conversation.
If this is your first meeting with the interlocutor, ask what achievements make him feel positive, and start the conversation with this discussion. For example, you can discuss the success of the hockey team if the opponent is a fan of the sport. After the positive is found, proceed to the exchange of information.
At the discussion stage, the interlocutors most often ask questions on a specific topic of interest to them. During the conversation, you can ask:
- open-ended questions, suggesting detailed full answers;
- closed questions, where it is expected to receive monosyllabic “yes / no” answers;
- questions for orientation, clarifying how far it was possible to move in the course of the negotiations;
- introductory questions that increase interest in the subject of conversation;
- mirror questions that allow you to get closer to your partner and reduce negativity when discussing difficult details;
- control questions that show whether your information is correctly perceived;
- counter questions, allowing you to narrow the discussion to a final answer;
- provocative questions, which are, albeit risky, but a reliable method of evaluating negotiations;
- concluding questions that summarize the negotiations.
