Negotiation Skills Company, Inc.
 
Negotiation Skills Company, Inc.

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Q & A Table of Contents

Negotiators' Strengths and Weaknesses

From: A Negotiator -- Porvoo, Finland

Question: I would like to ask you the following question: as I am negotiator what would be my weakness and strength?

Response: Since I know nothing about you, I cannot give a direct answer to your question about your own strengths as a negotiator. However, in general, measuring a negotiator's strengths and weaknesses can involve a multiplicity of elements, but the most important are the following:

1. A negotiator's relative strength is determined by the quality and extent of his/her preparation. The better you understand your interests (why you want what you want); and the better you understand the interests of other parties (why they want what they want), the greater the chance you will be able to reach an elegant solution which leaves the parties feeling as if each has achieved the major portion of their goals.

2. A negotiator's relative strength can be measured by whether people walk away thinking they would be pleased to negotiate again with him/her. If people leave a negotiation with you thinking they never want to see you again, then you are a poor negotiator.

3. A negotiator needs to understand that different issues should be treated as having different priorities in different negotiations. Sometimes the relationship is most important; other times creativity is the measure of how well one negotiates; and it is always true that good communication is a fundamental measure of a negotiator's strength. A good negotiator makes her/his points clearly understood by other parties. A better negotiator makes understanding other parties her/his top priority.

Good luck and good negotiating,

The Negotiation Skills Company, Inc.   P O Box 172   Pride's Crossing, MA 01965, USA   
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