The Sunday Minute

January 17, 2016

Dear Colleague,

Can you boost your negotiation acumen in sixty seconds? You can with our new email series The Sunday Minute from the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School.

Today, our Sunday Minute tip comes from Robert Mnookin, the Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the chair of the Program on Negotiation.



In negotiation, a fundamental challenge is to strike an effective balance between empathy and assertiveness. Empathy involves effectively understanding your counterpart's perspective and expressing his viewpoint in a nonjudgmental manner. Assertiveness is the ability to express and advocate for your own needs, interests, and perspectives.

To balance empathy with assertiveness in your negotiations, begin by assessing your approach to conflict. Could the negotiation trigger within you a tendency towards competition, accommodation, or avoidance? By thinking about how you are likely to respond in a particular context, you can begin to replace your unproductive negotiating strategies with more rewarding ones.

Ready yourself for the assertive component of negotiation by practicing your story - saying out loud what you want, why, and how you can help the other side meet their needs. Revise and rehearse your story until you think it's strong and persuasive. Then make a list of your key points so that you will be able to recall them when the negotiation begins.

To practice and display empathy at the negotiating table, ask your counterpart to present her view before you present yours. Listen without judgment, and make it clear that your understanding does not necessarily indicate agreement.

Sunday Minute SummaryTo encourage collaboration while still advocating for your own needs, practice empathy and assertiveness.


Want to know more about managing the tension between empathy and assertiveness?

Professor Mnookin and the other members of the Negotiation and Leadershipteaching team will share their wealth of negotiation expertise with you. Alongside your fellow professionals, you’ll learn how to become a more successful negotiator, manage conflict, and handle difficult people.

For example, you’ll discover how to harness your emotions and deal with challenging tactics in a Negotiation and Leadership session designed to help you:

  • Equip yourself for difficult negotiations

  • Prepare to negotiate when you do not have much time

  • Neutralize threats, lies, and insults

  • Deal with someone who is more powerful than you

  • Handle power more constructively

  • Strengthen interpersonal relationships in business

  • Regain control of the negotiation

  • Identify and control your own tendencies in the face of conflict

Through interactive exercises and negotiation scenarios, you’ll put your new strategies into action and gain the confidence you need to manage hard bargainers and use your emotions to your advantage.

This Sunday put your professional development first by registering for Negotiation and Leadership. We know you’ll be happy you did.

Cheers,

Gail Odeneal
Director of Marketing
Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School

P.S. Get negotiation guidance from the people who know best: Negotiation experts like Professor Mnookin. Our spring 2016 sessions of Negotiation and Leadership are filling up fast, so register today!

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