The USPS Alumni Programme is a short-term format dedicated to important social phenomena. On 30 November, the participants of the USPS Alumni Programme, together with Pavlo Klimkin, explored the logic of the negotiation process and subsequently applied it hands-on.
This time, the USPS Alumni Programme focused on the dimensions of emotionality, irrationality, body language, voice, values and psychology, in contrast to the traditional emphasis on negotiation strategies and tactics. The classification of strategic and tactical visions of the negotiation process is easy to find in well-known textbooks, but how do you “read” a person’s body language, how do you find the logic of the emotional in their words, movements or voice?
Negotiations are a matter of practical experience. But there is a nexus of the unobvious that is worth considering in order to understand the logic of such negotiations. Pavlo Klimkin drew the programme participants’ attention to the sometimes unobvious things that determine the course of the negotiation process.
Not just listening, but hearing
The art of negotiation is not just about the ability to control your voice, body language and emotions. An erroneously excessive focus on the negotiator’s desire to control what he or she communicates robs them of observation. You sit, you try to listen to their thoughts, and you restrain or openly demonstrate your own passion, but you do not hear at all. You limit your ability to understand and empathise with the other person. Conversely, a negotiator’s ability to actively listen to the other party gives one an undeniable advantage.
Is a weak position a defeat in itself?
Perhaps the least obvious feature of contemporary negotiations was illustrated by the participants’ own initial potential. Mistakenly perceiving a “weak” position as a foregone conclusion only limits its potential. Instead, ignoring the burden of failure inherent in one’s own mind, it is the appreciation of a “weak” position as something different, as one that gives you a different set of tools, that makes negotiations constructive and meaningful.
Values in the negotiation process
Empathy, understanding and emotion are essential parts of the negotiation process. However, if the person with whom you are talking is not guided by the standards to which you are accustomed, the biggest mistake you can make is to try to add value to a negotiation that is completely devoid of value. This will only be a sign of a lack of understanding of the psychological architecture of your interlocutor.
Negotiations are not just a matter of high politics. We negotiate every day. From grocery stores and workplaces to global summits and conferences. Negotiation is a complex process that combines the rational and the irrational. It’s important to keep in mind that negotiations are the work of people — not artificial intelligence:
Don’t throw people off balance. Build a line of reasoning. Control yourself. Keep moving. Speak up. Listen. Defend your position. But always stay human in negotiation.
The logic of negotiations and much more was discussed in the course of the USPS Alumni Programme. Our sincere thanks go to Pavlo Klimkin for his valuable practice and to the participants for their activity and readiness to learn together.
