Course Highlights
This negotiation fundamentals course will:
- Introduce different types of negotiation outcomes and how they impact relationships and results.
- Explain an eight-step negotiation process to guide structured, goal-oriented discussions.
- Share tips for making and receiving concessions effectively.
- Uncover common tricks and traps in negotiations and strategies to handle them.
Course Overview
Negotiation is not about winning or losing. It is about creating value. “A Little Give, a Little Take: Negotiation Basics” is a two-hour interactive virtual course designed to help participants approach negotiations with clarity, confidence, and a structure they can use immediately.
The program begins by examining the full spectrum of negotiation outcomes and what each one means for the relationship and the result. Understanding what you are actually trying to achieve, and what trade-offs different outcomes carry, changes how a negotiation starts and how it ends. From there, participants learn an eight-step framework that moves a negotiation from preparation through evaluation in a sequence that reduces surprises and keeps both parties oriented toward agreement.
A central focus of the course is concession-making: how to give ground strategically without losing your position, how to ask for something in return, and how to recognize when the other side is using concessions as a tactic rather than a gesture of good faith. The session closes with a practical look at the tricks and traps that show up most often in everyday negotiations and what to do when you encounter them.
The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. We can adjust emphasis or drop select elements based on your business objectives. Upon request, we can preview the participant materials with you prior to the session.
Program Objectives
At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Identify and differentiate common negotiation outcomes and understand their impact.
- Apply an eight-step negotiation process to approach discussions in a structured and efficient manner.
- Make strategic concessions that maintain balance and support negotiation goals.
- Recognize common negotiation tricks and traps and respond effectively.
Workshop Modules
Negotiation Goals: Types of Outcomes and Their Implications
The session opens by establishing what participants are actually negotiating toward. Most people enter a negotiation focused on what they want. This module shifts attention to what kind of outcome they are trying to produce and what that choice means for the relationship, the result, and the next conversation. The group will examine the full range of possible outcomes, from agreements where both parties get what they need to those where one side wins at the other’s expense, where neither side gets what they wanted, or where no deal is reached at all. For each outcome, participants will consider the short-term and long-term implications and discuss which outcomes are worth pursuing deliberately and which tend to arrive by default when preparation is thin. Three questions anchor the discussion: how important is this issue, how important is this relationship, and what other options exist. The answers to those questions shape everything that follows.
The Eight Steps: Following a Structured Process
This module introduces the eight-step negotiation framework that structures a conversation from preparation through evaluation. Participants will work through each step, examine what it is designed to accomplish, and discuss what typically goes wrong when a step is skipped or rushed. The framework is not a script. It is a sequence that keeps a negotiator oriented and prevents the reactive improvisation that produces outcomes nobody planned for. Participants will apply the framework to a realistic negotiation scenario and identify which steps feel most natural and which tend to get compressed under pressure. The session also introduces two foundational planning tools, the walkaway position and the best alternative to a negotiated agreement, and examines how having a clear picture of both changes the confidence and discipline a negotiator brings to the table.
The Art of Concession: Balancing Give and Take
Concessions are not just what you give up. They are signals. The timing, size, and sequencing of every concession communicates something about confidence, flexibility, and how much room remains. This module examines how to make concessions deliberately rather than reactively, how to ask for something in return without creating friction, and how to track what has been given and what has been received so that the balance stays visible throughout the conversation. Participants will also work through the specific challenge of recognizing when the other side is using concession-making as a pressure tactic, including moves designed to anchor the negotiation, create artificial urgency, or signal that movement is expected in one direction only. The group will practice applying concession guidelines to a short scenario and discuss where their instincts tend to work against them.
Tricks and Traps: Navigating Common Pitfalls
The session closes by examining the tactics and patterns that trip up even experienced negotiators. Some are external: moves the other party makes deliberately to shift the dynamic in their favor. Others are internal: habits, assumptions, and reactions that undermine a negotiator’s own position. Participants will work through a set of the most common tactics encountered in everyday business negotiations and develop a practical response to each. The discussion also covers the traps negotiators set for themselves, including going in underprepared, anchoring too conservatively, failing to document what was agreed, and negotiating with someone who does not have the authority to make a decision. The session ends with a short action planning exercise in which participants identify the one or two habits they will commit to changing in their next negotiation.
Target Audience
This virtual training program is designed for groups that want to:
- Develop a solid foundation in negotiation skills.
- Improve their ability to reach effective, balanced outcomes.
- Learn strategies to avoid pitfalls in negotiation settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should attend this course?
This course works well for professionals who negotiate as a regular part of their work and want a clearer, more structured approach. It is designed for people who are newer to formal negotiation training and for experienced negotiators who have been operating on instinct and want to add more discipline to how they prepare and execute. It also works well for teams that want to build a common language and framework around negotiation.
How is this course different from a general communication or influence workshop?
This program focuses specifically on the negotiation process: outcomes, preparation, structure, concessions, and tactics. Communication skills support the work, but the course is organized around negotiation as a distinct discipline with its own decision points and tools. Participants leave with frameworks built for the negotiating context.
Is this course appropriate for people with no prior negotiation training?
Yes. The program is designed as a foundation and assumes no prior exposure to negotiation frameworks. It builds from the ground up and covers the concepts that matter most when someone is developing their negotiation approach for the first time.
How long is the session?
This is a two-hour virtual instructor-led course. It can be delivered as a standalone program or as a starting point for a more comprehensive negotiation curriculum.
Does the course include practice?
Yes. Each module includes application work, including a scenario-based exercise in the eight-step module, a concession practice activity, and a tactics discussion that asks participants to apply responses to real situations. The final module closes with individual action planning.
Can this course be customized for our industry or team?
Yes. Before the session, we gather information about the kinds of negotiations your team manages most often and where the current process tends to produce inconsistent results. We adjust the examples and scenarios to reflect that context.