What is Negotiation?
A negotiation is an interactive communication process that may take place whenever we want something
from someone else or another person wants something from us.
The Five Basic Bargaining Styles
Behind the bewildering array of
personality differences, psychologists have isolated five basic negotiation personality types based on the way people prefer handling
interpersonal conflict. The five types are, in descending order of aggressiveness: competitors, problem solvers, “compromisers,” “accommodators,” and conflict “avoiders.” No system of categorization is perfect, but this one is better than average because the potential for interpersonal conflict is what gives negotiation its characteristic “edge.”
Your Bargaining Styles
All negotiations begin with you. The first foundation of effective negotiation is your personal bargaining style – the way you communicate when you face a situation containing interpersonal conflict. Your success as an effective negotiator depends on candidly assessing your strengths and weaknesses as a communicator. . . . .