Negotiation Journal

Negotiation Journal - No. 10

(1) How this class meet my learning goals and expectations

As I originally anticipated in the first class, I hope this class can teach me negotiation strategies that I could to achieve my career goal, that is, to become an independent transaction/corporate lawyer. I wish I could responsible for the whole deal structure, dispute resolution/problem-solving procedure on my own. Due to the limited time, although the class could not cover all aspects of negotiation skills, it really teaches us how to read counterparty's mind, how to initiate the conversation, how to transit to the next stage, how to strike balance between competing and collaborative, etc. Through the simulation and debrief process, I could imagine what the outline and framework of the actual negotiation look like. One thing I want to mention is the client-counseling session. Even though we have been practiced for many years, and I think we should be familiar with this procedure; however, through the simulation exercise, to do is totally different to say. You can not become a good negotiator or good listener until you really exercised a lot. As professor emphasized, training or coaching can help negotiators avoid some of the pitfalls.

More specifically, another learning goal for this class is to learn how to initiate the discussion, how to continue and how to transit into another stage if necessary. Through the empathy loop method, I think I get familiar with how the negotiation will go smoothly and how to spot the issues when dealing in the difficult conversation. Also, from the feedback forms from other classmates, I learned that even though I did better in (a) inquiring about a subject or issue, and (c) demonstrating my understanding of the response and test or check that understanding with the other person are still not enough. Usually I might forget or neglect to (b) listen the other side responds. One reflection I want to mention is that how to propose the offer (or counter offer), and when to propose. From a lot of exercises, it is important to transit from the information exchange stage into the proposal or negotiation stage. I think I still have the difficulty controlling the tempo of this negotiation.

I hope I could acquire further knowledge of innovative transactional strategies and persuasion skills in this class. I have to admit that in the first beginning, I view negotiation as a strategy or a skill, to maximize your side's benefit. But negotiation is not just a strategy, or just your own benefit. Instead, it is a dynamic procedure, and you should also be concerned about other side's interests, BATNA, and to prioritize. Negotiation strategy or skill is just one dimension of the whole picture. From this perspective, I think this class not only expanded my understanding of the negotiation from a more comprehensive perspective,