This comprehensive course covers the negotiation strategies and skills that are necessary for business success.

This course provides you with a practical, holistic introduction to the strategies and skills that can lead to successful negotiations in your personal life and in business transactions. The course covers the four key stages of negotiation: planning, negotiation, creating a contract, and performance of the contract.

At each stage we will examine the key questions that you should be prepared to answer in future negotiations, such as: 

• What are the key elements in a negotiation analysis, including your reservation price, stretch goal, alternatives to the deal that you are negotiating, and zone of potential agreement?
  
• What guidelines should you use when faced with ethical issues?
  
• What is the source of power in negotiations and how can you increase your power?
  
• What psychological tools can you use during negotiations and what psychological traps should you avoid?
  
• What are the four key contract law questions that should be on your negotiation checklist?
  
• What concepts and tools should you use when resolving disputes?

The two key dispute resolution processes are arbitration and mediation.  The course includes videos of an arbitration of a construction dispute and a mediation of a robotics software dispute.

At the conclusion of the course you will participate in a one-on-one negotiation that will test your negotiation strategy and skills.  The debriefing of your negotiation will illustrate the concepts and tools covered in the course.  Following the debriefing you will receive feedback on what you do well as a negotiator and how you can improve.  

Who should take this course?

We all negotiate on a daily basis.  On a personal level, we negotiate with friends, family, landlords, car sellers and employers, among others. Negotiation is also the key to business success.  No business can survive without profitable contracts and, within a company, negotiation skills can lead to career advancement. 

This short, practical course provides an introduction to negotiation concepts and tools that are recommended for personal and business negotiations.  The course is also provides experienced negotiators with a review of key negotiation strategies and skills.

Will I receive a certificate after successfully completing this course?

Some people take MOOCs only to learn the course material, others take them to obtain certification, and still others combine the two motivations.  This course is designed primarily for students who want to learn how to negotiate or to improve their negotiation strategies and skills.  Negotiation is one of the most important elements in our daily lives and the ultimate course exam is your success in future negotiations.  

But because many people also want certification, you will have an opportunity to take a final exam, and a certificate will be provided to those who do well on the exam.  Even if you are not interested in the certificate, I recommend that you take the exam to evaluate your negotiation literacy.

Attribution:

The course logo composite is shared with a Creative Commons CC BY-SA license, and was created using images provided courtesy of Flazingo Photos and K2 Space.

 

This course is designed for individuals who have an intense desire for success in their business and personal negotiations. There are no other prerequisites.