Preparing the elements for a successful outcome

A search for "negotiation" in books on Amazon.com yields about 23,000 results. A similar search on Google finds 22,400,000 results. Within all these results and in a variety of courses, we can find three, five, and seven or eight steps to the negotiation process. Regardless of the number of steps involved, many of them are suitable for our introverted nature. In general, these are the negotiation elements:

• Preparation

  • Have a clearly defined outcome

  • Decide your personal bottom line, the least acceptable outcome.

  • Be prepared with questions

• Engagement

  • Start with the mutually agreed points.

  • Ask for what you want.

  • Be prepared to justify your request.

  • Listen to what the other party wants.

  • Cooperate and collaborate to reach an agreement.

• Agreement

  • Bring negotiations to a close.

  • It's best to get things in writing.

We will follow a situation that Meghan Wier shared with me to see some of these steps in action.

Creative preparation

Meghan has admitted to me that she...