Negotiation is often the best — and sometimes the only — way to develop effective, lasting solutions to many kinds of project problems. This program builds the skills you need to craft constructive agreements between the project team and the other stakeholders. Participative exercises will help you master basic concepts: getting agreement vs. eliminating differences and positions vs. interests. You will also learn when to negotiate, how to prepare for a negotiation, how to manage the aggressive negotiator, and how to deal with "everyday” negotiations. Case studies include both internal negotiations and contract negotiations.

Approximately 70% of class time is devoted to casework and experiential learning. During hands-on exercises, you will work as part of a team to apply the techniques of win-win negotiating to a series of increasingly challenging project negotiations.

Upon completion, you will be better able to:

• Determine whether to negotiate

• Describe the phases of a negotiation

• Use a structured process to negotiate

• Deal with an aggressive negotiator

• Craft agreements that preserve your relationship with your counterpart

• List useful tactics for negotiating

These programs are designed for individuals who have or expect to have responsibility for leading or managing a project, subproject, or project phase. Newcomers will learn new skills. More experienced managers will enhance their ability to apply what they already know.

Day #1

• Communicating persuasively 

 openings and proposals 

 presenting information 

 the characteristics of the communicator

• How to handle conflict and aggression 

 how dysfunctional conflict originates 

 intergroup conflict 

 social and psychological causes of conflict 

 consequences of conflict 

 handling conflict and aggression 

 how networking can improve conflict and promote co-operation 

 constructive guidelines for managing a conflict situation effectively 



Day #2

• Interacting persuasively 

 persuasive communication techniques 

 dealing effectively with customers 

 checking for understanding 

 summarizing discussions 

 three universal rules for effective interpersonal interactions

• Building trust 

 building and maintaining trust, positive ethics and support amongst team members 

 is trust earned? 

 trust as a risk 

 trust as a choice 

 three universal components for building trust

• Skills practice 

 practical assignments with personalized feedback will take place continuously throughout the course, with each new topic



Day #3 

• Introduction 

 What, when, and why to negotiate 

 Elements of a successful negotiation 

 Types of negotiations 

 Win-lose vs. win-win negotiation 

 Dangerous assumptions about working relationships 

 The process of negotiation

• Preparing for the Negotiation 

 Surveying the environment 

 Your interests, their interests, shared interests 

 Constraints and assumptions 

 Anticipating problems 

 Using a trade-off matrix 

 Constructing the facts 

 Who are the stakeholders?



Day #4 

• Conducting the Negotiation 

 "Tactics” is not a four-letter word 

 Choosing your attitude and style 

 Dealing with your emotions 

 Asking questions the right way 

 Ultimatums: when they are okay 

 Common errors: starting too high or too low, splitting the difference

 negotiation strategies 

 identifying and solving problems which could have a negative effect on the coherence, spirit and image of the team 

 coping with the inevitable changes that take place within a project team

Day #5 

• Follow-through 

 Keeping your commitments 

 Monitoring compliance 

 When the agreement falls apart 

 Case study exercise

• Special Topics 

 Managing the aggressive negotiator 

 Telephone negotiations 

 Surprise negotiations

 Exercises