What is negotiation?

We have several definitions of negotiation:

  1. Any attempt to exert influence over an outcome

  2. A conversation with consequences (which very much includes internal conversations)

  3. The pursuit of INTERESTS

The idea here is that if we have preferences with regards to the outcome of an interaction, we are already negotiating. Helpful follow-up questions here might be:

“Who am I negotiating with?”

“When, Where and How?”

“Why am I negotiating or What are my INTERESTS?”

“What will I do if I don’t come to an agreement with my counterpart(s) or what are my ALTERNATIVES?”