The Art of Negotiating the Best Deal

Overview

Master key strategies and practical techniques for achieving your goals at the bargaining table in this powerful course taught by an acclaimed negotiator.

Negotiation is a big part of life—from buying a car or a house, taking a new job, or working out a serious conflict. Yet it’s easy to believe we’re usually at a disadvantage—that others are born negotiators, while we are not. Nothing could be further from the truth. Negotiation is a skill that just about everyone can learn to do well.

Presented by a master negotiator, these 24 lectures teach you how to approach all phases of a negotiation and deal with a wide range of problems. Professor Freeman shows you how to negotiate effectively in both competitive and collaborative situations. You learn the art of handling sharp tactics, haggling, psychological traps, and other challenges, while always being “hard on the problem and soft on the person”—which is the key to achieving a mutually beneficial outcome.

The course is organized around a mnemonic device, developed by Professor Freeman, that can serve in any negotiation situation. Called “I FORESAW IT,” this indispensable framework guides you in assembling the strongest possible case, showing you how to evaluate such factors as creative options, independent criteria, and your best alternative to a negotiated agreement.

Professor Freeman enriches his presentation with scores of fascinating anecdotes and case histories that vividly demonstrate what works and what doesn’t when you sit down at the negotiating table.

Course Structure

1. The Hopeful Power of Negotiation
   Duration: 34 min
   Hear how a few simple negotiating ideas can help you achieve remarkable results. Then learn how to use a powerful alternative to traditional win/lose negotiating called interest-based bargaining.
2. The Other Negotiator
   Duration: 34 min
   Learn how you can often do better for both sides by understanding the other negotiator’s goals and concerns.
3. The Art of Skilled Listening
   Duration: 32 min
   Explore the difference between how people normally listen and the kind of listening that can make a profound difference when you’re involved in a negotiation.
4. Knowledge Is Power
   Duration: 28 min
   Discover how you can harness the power of information in different ways—for example, by tracking down independent criteria that bolster your negotiating position.
5. Negotiating Creatively
   Duration: 30 min
   In this lecture, learn how skilled negotiators turn “no” into “yes” by drawing on a secret weapon: creative options.
6. Credibility and Rapport
   Duration: 32 min
   Learn the three Cs—concern, competence, and candor—and the importance of displaying genuine personal warmth.
7. Can You Negotiate When Trust Is Low?
   Duration: 33 min
   Investigate the wealth of solutions that are available through trust mechanisms.
8. Building Leverage
   Duration: 30 min
   Discover the advantages of using your best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA.
9. Basics of Distributive Negotiation
   Duration: 33 min
   Discover ways to handle distributive negotiations with wisdom and grace.
10. Distributive Negotiation – Twists and Turns
    Duration: 32 min
    Sharpen your strategy for distributive negotiating by focusing on who should make the first offer.
11. Measuring Success and Walking Away
    Duration: 32 min
    Develop specific, practical ways to measure success in negotiations.
12. Creative, Distributive, or Both?
    Duration: 32 min
    Explore ways to combine creative and distributive approaches in negotiations.
13. Hidden Factors That Shape Negotiation
    Duration: 33 min
    Explore a wide range of often-overlooked factors that can shape the outcome of negotiations.
14. The Power of Preparation – “I FORESAW IT”
    Duration: 33 min
    See how a 10-letter mnemonic sums up what skilled negotiators do to prepare.
15. Handling Sharp Tactics and Ethical Issues
    Duration: 33 min
    Learn typical gambits employed by sharp negotiators and how to counteract them.
16. Using Persuasion Tools and Winning Buy-In
    Duration: 32 min
    Discover powerful ways to make your case in a negotiation with integrity.
17. Managing Emotions and Psychological Traps
    Duration: 33 min
    Explore effective ways to cope with the psychological dynamics in difficult situations.
18. Negotiating with Godzilla and the Devil
    Duration: 33 min
    Discover surprising ways to level the playing field when negotiating with powerful or corrupt individuals.
19. Cross-Cultural Negotiation
    Duration: 34 min
    Probe three major problems that often arise in cross-cultural bargaining.
20. Negotiating with Children
    Duration: 31 min
    Discover how to apply interest-based negotiation approaches to parenting challenges.
21. Negotiating Work and the Workplace
    Duration: 32 min
    Explore negotiation strategies for building your career.
22. Healing the Troubled Deal
    Duration: 33 min
    Learn how to spot and correct hidden traps in agreements.
23. Why the Trust Problem Is Fundamental
    Duration: 34 min
    Explore the problem of trust in negotiations and how to address it.
24. Confrontation, Love, and Negotiation
    Duration: 35 min
    Explore how to challenge someone without destroying the relationship and the connection between negotiation and love.