Negotiation is the art of compromise. Good negotiators are always on the lookout for narrowing the gap between the negotiating tables. As John Ruskin had once famously said, “There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” So, the ace negotiator also does not stick to a rigid stance. He knows everything is negotiable. A fair resolution to every negotiation is not determined by the exactitude of decimal points, but by the fact that both the parties walk away from the table knowing in their minds that it was the best possible they could get under the given circumstances.

But how does playing games can be fitted in the context of negotiations.

For those who consider negotiation as some sort of mental wrestling, the answer is ready at hand. As in a bout of wrestling, so at the negotiation table, you must be aware of your strengths, hide your weaknesses and study the opponent very carefully. You could win a bout if you are able to anticipate your opponent’s moves before he actually gets into them and be proactive to surprise him by being there even before he has made a start!

This sort of approach to negotiation is actually detrimental to the spirit of negotiation. When you sit at a negotiation table you should have an open mind. You must not forget that if you expect your adversary to come down by five notches you should also dilute your position by at least two. If there is no attempt to locate a common ground, then it no longer remains a negotiation, it becomes a one-way demand, order or threatening.

So, a draw in a negotiation must also be acceptable to both the parties. A draw is not to be considered a stalemate as in chess but a preparation for a final victory at some future date. So, a chess player may be exceptional in planning every move even before the first piece has been moved, or he may be able to anticipate the opponents move and can encircle his king and win the game, but in today’s world of negotiation, a chess player’s attitude will not be a sure shot recipe for success all the time.

The life blood of negotiation is communication. Negotiation is not a war; it is a coming together of disparate forces and expanding the common ground for cooperation to the extent possible. So, any game which has that ferocity in it, will not be ideal to play as a build up to negotiation. Games like chess, martial arts or poker are too much aggressive and the aggression shows in the way those games are played.

Henry Kissinger is considered by many as the best negotiator of them all. At the height of the Vietnam War, when USA was facing a public outcry both within the country and out of it, it was Kissinger who negotiated for hours and days with his adversaries and effected whatever face-saving US could achieve under those extremely bleak circumstances.

He rates communication as the most important tool of negotiation. If you interact then only can you negotiate, otherwise the only option left to you is war. In today’s commercial negotiations, both the parties are aware of the synergic benefits of working as a team. So, nobody wants a complete break off, since that signals the end of synergy and the start of internecine warfare where no one would ask who was right but only enquire what is left.

Negotiation is a dynamic situation where scenarios change at the drop of a hat and utmost agility and the ability to counterattack are the two most important attributes necessary for becoming a successful negotiator. Moreover, every negotiator must have a sound backup team to help him in the negotiation process. He needs to understand the requirements of his team members and the team members must also understand his needs, and, above all, should be proud to be members of the team and prepared for a lot of sacrifice if the team demands that from them.

Such a single minded devotion to the team and the hunger for victory must always be within the established parameters of corporate decency. To build up a team which rises to the occasion without niggles and obeys the leader to a fault can only happen if the team members play cricket.

If you analytically observe the game of cricket, you will find that it is basically one long negotiation process where there is a distinct possibility of the teams sharing honors in a draw without a clear winner. This is exactly what happens in most of the negotiations.

Just as it happens in real world negotiations, there are times in cricket when you can ensnare your opponent. This possibility is offered to you when you are fielding. All your eleven team mates are with you and you are targeting only two of your opponent batsmen. The batsmen are hopelessly outnumbered and you have all the liberty in the world to send them back to the pavilion by playing within the rules of the game. Shadow boxing and exchange of glares or maybe a few not exactly polite banters are allowed, but no body contact or threatening behavior.

You and your team members go all out and use all the guile and tactic at your disposal and even risk your limbs while fielding the ball and create as much mental pressure as you can on those two batsmen. Most of the times you succeed, but there will be times when your bowlers will blasted away to all corners of the field. Being the captain of your side, you can never allow things to drift. You have to continuously plan, shuffle around your resources and make all attempts to keep the game under your control.

Well, in spite of all your efforts if the batsmen run away with all the honors, still all is not lost. Your time to avenge the insult will come when your team gets the opportunity to bat. Then as only two of your team members go out to the field, the rest of you stay back at the pavilion, watch the progress of the game and change your tactic accordingly.

You give the game your hundred percent and in spite of that you may lose or be forced to share the honors with your opposing captain. You may win too. But whatever you achieve, the superficial politeness and gentility is maintained throughout the entire combat. This is exactly what happens, or should happen, in modern day corporate negotiations.

This article is the property of http://www.iGuides.org
Copying and publishing any article from our site is strictly NOT allowed.