Self Help

From the time we are born, we communicate our needs to the outside world. Just as a child needs the help of parents to survive, so too does a manager require the help of others to get things done. When we are very young, our requests are usually answered with immediate compliance. As we get older, however, we find that it becomes more and more necessary to work out mutually agreeable arrangements to have our requests acted upon. Negotiation can help us turn our requests into real action.

Negotiation turns the one-way communication of requests into a two-way give-and-take by which you make your requests and then interact with others to fulfill them. At the same time, your counterparts may, as a condition of fulfilling your requests, make certain requests of you.

Communication is at the heart of negotiation. If you do not properly communicate your goals, and they are not accurately received by the other party, it will be difficult for you to achieve them. Conversely, if your counterparts have not communicated their goals to you effectively, or you have not received their requests accurately, they will have great difficulty in achieving their goals. Certainly, we have all experienced the need for accurate communication in our everyday personal interactions.