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NEGOTIATION
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CHAPTER 7
The key to successful team negotiations lies, again, in preparation, designation
of roles and immense discipline during the negotiation. A few guidelines will
clarify how to create a winning team:
• Only one person should speak at a time.
Clear designation of roles should
make this a given, with a directive to all team members that only the team
leader should communicate to the other side, unless the team leader calls
upon specific individuals to cover certain points. This should not result in
one speaker and a remaining team of dumbstruck subordinates, but rather
in a team that sends out one clear message with one clear voice at a time.
• All members of the team should know and understand their roles and
be prepared to speak when called on.
Again, preparation must clarify who
is the expert on what; and therefore who should be called upon to respond
in the interest of the team’s goals. It is crucial that this preparation not be
done in isolation. It is better for each designated speaker to prepare answers/
comments to/on expected points and to practice them with the team. There
is nothing more humiliating than a team member answering a question and
his/her colleagues’ jaws dropping in surprise at the answer.
• The lead negotiator should indicate when someone from the team is to
speak.
Of course, should an unexpected point arise during the negotiation,
the most qualified member of the team should indicate his/her willingness to
answer, but should wait for the team leader’s go-ahead rather than simply
jumping in.
• Never disagree as a team in front of the other side.
The exception is,
of course, a deliberate argument to generate confusion in the counterpart.
But this is a trick that, if spotted, can have serious repercussions on the
establishment of trust between the opposing parties.
• When in doubt have an adjournment.
It is perfectly acceptable to ask for
time out or a five-minute conference. It is better to do this than have an over-
hasty reaction and subsequent enforced retreat.
• Create a way of communicating with one another non-verbally, with
signals, notes, etc.
Your signals should be as subtle as possible. Ideally
they should be so subtle that your counterpart does not pick them up. As an
example, the team leader could agree with the team that placing a different
number of right-hand fingers on the table has different meanings; or that
different fingers designate a different team member to speak.
• No matter how the other side behaves, do not let them influence your
behaviour as individuals or as a team.
Well-drilled counterparts will
often try to undermine a team. The most obvious method is to identify the
weakest team member and force the discussion through him/her in an effort
to destabilise the leader. This tactic, once identified, should be highlighted
and thus negated.