Working Together: Negotiation

NEGOTIATION
Have you ever been in a situation where you have to make a decision but other people involved have different views from you? Do you change your mind and agree with them, or do you try to persuade them to go along with your ideas? In order to solve this dilemma, and find a solution that everyone feels comfortable with, you could try negotiation. In this section you will:
q

learn to recognise situations where negotiation occurs practise negotiating in a range of situations

Objectives

To help you with these Activities you can also look at the negotiating sections in ARKS Keys to Communications.

Activity 1
Can you think of a situation where people hold different views and an agreement has to be negotiated, for example, in your family, or with neighbours or friends? Did you have a viewpoint? Was your viewpoint heard? Did other people have different views? Did you listen to their views? Write about your experience here:

Activity

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Before starting a negotiation, think about the following questions:

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Can you reach an agreement? You can usually reach an agreement if all people involved are willing to listen to each other and to find a solution.

Are you all clear about what you want to negotiate? It is important that everyone involved agrees on what the issue or problem is that you want to negotiate.

When negotiating it is good to remember the following points:

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explain your point of view give reasons for your opinions ensure that discussions involve both speaking and listening to others be open for compromises.

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Activity 2
Work in a group with at least four people and select a topic for negotiation. The topics suggested below are situations when groups of people get together and have to make a joint decision. Everyone in the group will have their own preferences. How can you make sure that everyone has their say and they still manage to reach a compromise that they are all happy with? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Which club to go to for a night out What to do about noisy night clubs in your area How to involve learners in deciding what they learn What present to buy a colleague who is leaving town How to get healthy meals in the college/work canteen Add any ideas of your own

Activity

Group Task

What different views might people have on the topic you have chosen to discuss? Are there some points on which people might be prepared to compromise? Are there some points on which people will not be prepared to compromise? How can you reach an agreement that suits everyone? What wouldnt work?

Once you have finished negotiating, take a few minutes to discuss how the process went.
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How did you get on? Did your group find it easy to reach a solution that everyone was happy with? Did everyone in the group feel that they had their say? How did you feel during the negotiation (e.g. under pressure, in control, an active member of the group)?

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Activity 2 continued

Activity continued

Write your feelings about the negotiation here:

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Activity 3
Negotiating roleplay This Activity can be used with a group of about 6-15 people. The aim of this Activity is to practise negotiation and how to reach agreement as a member of a committee or group. By putting forward your point of view and listening to others, you enable your group to reach a solution that suits everyone. It is not important to win, but to have a good discussion and reach a compromise which everybody can accept!

Activity

Group Task

Roleplay 1 A group of work colleagues saved money over the winter for a special summer outing. They have 1000 and now they have to decide where to go and what to do. The group is made up of men and women and their ages range from 24 56 years. Some members of the group dont drink alcohol or smoke. Some of the women want to go somewhere where they can shop. The men dont want to shop. Each member of your group has to take on a role from the group above and take part in negotiating a suitable destination for the outing. Once you have each decided your role in the Activity, try to stay as true to your role as possible.

Roleplay 2 Return to Slotham City (see Recognising Different Points of View in this pack). In Slotham City there is an environmental organisation called Greeny. Greeny is concerned about the MacTox chemical factory in the town and their committee is meeting to discuss what action the group should take to challenge the MacTox factory. There are three different factions within the Greeny committee: (a) members who want to organise demonstration marches against the factory members who see the pollution as a crime and want to write to the Department of the Environment members who havent made up their minds what to do yet

(b)

(c)

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Activity 3 continued

Activity continued

Take enough small pieces of paper for everyone in your group. Write these three headings on the papers:
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demonstration write a letter dont know

so that you have an equal number of each. Fold the papers and put them into a hat and ask everyone in the group to take a paper. This will tell them the character they are to play in the roleplay. At the start of the roleplay, you wont know the positions of the other committee members. So your first task is to find out who shares your opinion in the group. Once you are sure which group you belong to take a short break during which the three different groups may plan their arguments and strategies together. When you are ready, start the committee meeting again and try to stay in character until you reach a compromise which suits everyone.

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Evaluation Questions
Did you manage to reach a satisfactory compromise in your group? Write here some comments on how your negotiation progressed:

What have you learned?

Did everyone in your group have their say? Did anyone dominate your group? Did anyone in your group not participate?

Did anyone in your group say anything to change your opinion? If so, how did that come about and how do you feel about it now?

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Evaluation Questions continued

In your experience, what are the most important ingredients for a successful negotiation?

In your experience, what happens if these ingredients are missing?

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