Seven keys to effective negotiation

Students learn essential negotiation tactics during Independent Activities Period

The four men and two women judiciously negotiated their seats at the rectangular meeting table. No one sat at the head.

The parties, representing a Middle Eastern beverage distributor and a multinational beverage company, respectively, exchanged pleasantries, and then got down to business. Could they negotiate a contract in less than an hour?

In this MIT classroom simulation, they came to a verbal agreement, or a commitment, one of the seven elements of negotiation taught by MIT Sloan Professor Jared Curhan in Negotiation Analysis, a new three-day crash course offered during MIT’s Independent Activities Period in January.

• Legitimacy: Prior to any negotiation, develop a list of objective criteria for determining a solution to the problem. For instance, if you are selling your house, think about all the different ways to determine the value of the home, such as assessed value, comparables, and proximity to good schools.

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