Challenging situations are common in the workplace, and no matter where you are in the organizational hierarchy, you may feel intimidated approaching them.

You can overcome challenging circumstances or conflicts by applying some of the techniques found in the best negotiation skills training courses that Stitt Feld Handy Group and other top firms have to offer.

1.) Emotional Control

Difficult individuals often thrive on their negative emotional impulses in the workplace and in debates. Thankfully, these impulses can be thwarted with your own controlled emotions.

A negotiator who responds to huge emotional swings with similar behaviour likely to go flying off the rails. Controlled and measured responses effectively counter any angry impulses.

Step back a bit from the situation and ask why this person is acting in this manner. Did they have a negative prior experience with someone else, or are they assuming something that is untrue?

For example, if you suspect or know that the party was hurt by someone in a similar negotiation in the past, it can win you favour to acknowledge their feelings or to empathize with them.

By flipping the expectations in a heated argument, savvy negotiators can see anger, frustration, and belligerence as the impulses of anxiety or insecurity that they often are. This understanding can then be used as a vital tool for negotiating the terms you want.

2.) Eye Contact and Body Language

Powerful body language is one of the fundamental techniques that the best negotiation skills training courses will refer to time and time again.

Consistent eye contact shows a willingness to pay attention to the needs of the other person while asserting confidence.

It can also provide valuable inferences as to what the other party is feeling. For example, an individual may break eye contact when they hear something they don’t like or enhance eye contact at vital decision points in the conversation.

3.) Empathy

Empathy requires an understanding of the other party’s place in the negotiation, including what they seek, their belief of where they stand in the organization, and where they derive from emotionally.

Empathy is needed for both employees and managers to successfully resolve difficult situations. Having empathy allows you to stand in the other party’s shoes and understand their challenges and frustrations. Demonstrating it can be equally important in a challenging circumstance.

4.) Commitment to a Decision

There’s a fine line between a willingness to be flexible and a commitment to a decision. Effective negotiation requires a delicate balance of these two considerations.

The best negotiation skills training courses teach business professionals when to commit to finalize a position. Business leaders need to be able to detect this.

You will have to find an endpoint eventually, but there are risks if that commitment occurs too soon before the other party has had a chance to air their concerns. This skill requires meticulous practice.

5.) Communication of Personal Ethics 

In a challenging debate, the other party needs to know who you are and what you stand for, to ensure that your agreed decision reflects your core beliefs as well as theirs.

If they detect ethical ambiguity, they can exploit that to their advantage, forcing you to consider opening up a compromise that is not in your best interests.

If you have a strong ethical foundation that you communicate adequately, the other party will hit against a brick wall when it comes to the terms on which you simply won’t compromise. The above techniques will help any negotiator tackle a challenging business prospect or a difficult opponent.

To learn conflict resolution skills that you can use at work and in your personal life, please visit our Alternative Dispute Resolution Workshop page to learn more about upcoming in-person and instructor-led online sessions.

To improve your negotiation skills and get the results you want while negotiating, please visit our Become a Powerful Negotiator Workshop page to learn more about upcoming in-person and instructor-led online sessions.

To gain skills to handle difficult conversations and difficult people with confidence, please visit our Dealing With Difficult People Workshop page to learn more about upcoming in-person and instructor-led online sessions.