The Art of Negotiating the Best Deal

Hear how a few simple negotiating ideas can help you achieve remarkable results. Then learn how to use a powerful alternative to traditional win/lose negotiating called interest-based bargaining.

Learn how you can often do better for both sides by understanding the other negotiator's goals and concerns. Professor Freeman illustrates this principle with a widely studied exercise called the Ultimatum Game and the story of the Cuban missile crisis.

Listening may be the most important, powerful, and persuasive negotiating skill of all. Explore the difference between how people normally listen and the kind of listening that can make a profound difference when you're involved in a negotiation. Learn specific techniques that will turn you into a skilled listener.

There's no substitute for knowing the facts. Discover how you can harness the power of information in different ways: for example, by tracking down independent criteria that bolster your negotiating position. The good news is that you probably already research well; here you'll discover nonobvious ways to do even better.

Many people believe that the answer "no" is the end of the negotiation. In this lecture, learn how skilled negotiators turn "no" into "yes" by drawing on creative options: a strategy that businesses also use to build markets, create product lines, and enhance customer relations.

People's natural wariness in negotiations makes it crucial to establish credibility and rapport from the start of a negotiation. Learn the three Cs—concern, competence, and candor—and the importance of displaying genuine personal warmth and appealing to common interests.