The goal of international business negotiations is to sign an agreement or contract that satisfies all parties. The two negotiating parties do have a confrontational relationship to maximize their own interests, but the more important thing is the cooperative relationship. Therefore, using some negotiation skills appropriately in the negotiation can avoid conflicts.
(I) Establish a harmonious negotiation atmosphere
At the beginning of the negotiation, the negotiators are better to find some points of agreement between the two parties and express them, leaving the other party with a subconscious feeling that they are more like partners, so that the subsequent negotiations will easily develop in the direction of reaching a consensus. When the negotiation is deadlocked, the negotiators can bring out the consensus of both parties to enhance each other’s confidence and resolve differences. They can also provide the other party with some business information that they are interested in, or simply discuss some not very important issues. After reaching a consensus, the psychology of both parties will undergo subtle changes.
(II) Set the restricted areas of negotiation
Negotiation is a very sensitive way of communication, so the language should be concise. Negotiators are better to set the restricted areas of negotiation in advance: dangerous topics, behaviors, bottom line of negotiation, etc., so as to avoid falling into the trap set by the other party in the negotiation to the greatest extent.
(III) Simple language expression
In business negotiations, loose language is taboo, and your language expression should be as simple as possible: otherwise, your keywords are likely to be buried in the tedious, lengthy and meaningless language. A pearl is placed on the ground, and we can easily find it, but if we pour a bag of gravel on it, it will be very difficult to find the pearl. In the same way, the characteristic of human beings receiving external sound or visual information is that they are focused at first, but their attention will become more and more scattered as the information received increases. Therefore, the language of negotiators should be concise and targeted, and strive to let the other party receive the content they want to express in the best state of receiving information. If there are many contents to be expressed, such as contracts, agreements, etc., then when telling or reading, you can change the tone of voice from light to heavy, such as raising the voice and slowing down the speed in important places to arouse the other party’s active thinking. Before important negotiations, negotiators should conduct several simulation exercises to train language expression and response to unexpected problems. In negotiations, avoid vague and verbose language, which not only cannot effectively express your intentions, but may also cause doubts and disgust to the other party. Here we need to make it clear that we need to distinguish the difference between calmness and procrastination. Although the former expresses slowly, every word is carefully considered, and the speed of speech is also conducive to the other party’s understanding and digestion of the information content. In negotiations, this way of expression is recommended. In negotiations, if you want to suppress the other party with sharp words and aggressive momentum, it is often counterproductive, and most of the results will not be very ideal.
(IV) Be a soft nail
The essence of business negotiation is game. At this time, both parties are very sensitive. If the language is too straightforward or strong, it is easy to arouse the other party’s instinctive confrontation. Therefore, in business negotiations, when the two parties encounter differences, they should smile and speak tactfully, so that the other party will not activate the instinctive hostility in their minds, and it is not easy to make the subsequent negotiations deadlocked. In business negotiations, it is not that you will take the initiative by showing your teeth and claws and dominating others. On the contrary, it is better to restrain your opponent by not showing your emotions, not letting your emotions be guided by the other party, and not letting your mind be understood by the other party. The softest ones will last forever, and the hardest ones will be easily damaged. If you want to be a master of business negotiations, you must be a soft nail.
(V) Curved attack
Sun Tzu said: “Use the circuitous path to achieve the direct path”. General Clausewitz also said: “The shortcut to reach the goal is the most tortuous path”. From this, we can see that if you want to achieve your goal, you have to go in a roundabout way. If you go directly to the goal, it will only cause the other party’s vigilance and confrontation. You should guide the other party’s thinking into your own encirclement by guiding their thoughts. For example, by asking questions, let the other party take the initiative to say the answer you want to hear. The more eager you are to achieve your goal, the more likely you are to expose your intentions and be used by the other party.
(VI) Negotiation is to win with your ears, not your mouth
In business negotiations, it is often easy to fall into a misunderstanding, that is, active attack. We always keep talking, always want to suppress the other party’s words, always want to instill more of our own ideas into the other party, thinking that this can take the initiative. In fact, it is not the case. In this competitive environment, the more you say, the more the other party will reject it, and the result of the other party being suppressed is that it is difficult for both parties to reach an agreement. On the contrary, let the other party say all the problems they want to express, and their sharpness will be appropriately reduced. More importantly, listening carefully can help you discover the other party’s true intentions.
(VII) Control the negotiation situation
On the surface, there seems to be no host in the negotiation, but in fact there is an invisible host, who is either you or your opponent. Therefore, you should take the initiative to grasp the rhythm, direction, and even trend of the negotiation. The qualities that a host should have are that although he does not speak much, his moves are on point and hit the key points; although he is not overbearing, he is able to plan and plan calmly, and does not use words to force the opponent to the edge of the cliff, but to lead the opponent to the edge of the cliff with words. In addition, if you want to be the host at the negotiation table, you must show your fairness, that is, face the problem objectively, especially at the beginning of the negotiation, slowly let the opponent be guided by you, and the situation will tilt to your advantage.
(VIII) Concession attack
In business negotiations, you can put forward one or two requirements that the other party cannot agree to at the right time, and then make concessions after bargaining, lower the requirements or change them to other requirements, so that the other party has a sense of accomplishment and feels that he has taken advantage. At this time, our other demands will be easily accepted by the other party, but we should avoid making outrageous or excessive demands, otherwise the other party may feel that we are not sincere and may even anger the other party. Throwing out high demands first can also effectively reduce the opponent’s expectations of the benefits of the negotiation and dampen the opponent’s spirit. In fact, the key to business negotiations is how to achieve a psychological balance between the two negotiating parties. When an agreement is reached, the psychological balance between the two negotiating parties is achieved. In other words, one has achieved a satisfactory or basically satisfactory result in the negotiation. This satisfaction includes the achievement of the expected purpose, the benefits obtained, the concessions made by the negotiating opponent, the initiative obtained, and the harmonious atmosphere during the negotiation.