Top 5 Tips for the Human Side of Virtual Negotiations

Out of the many things that have been impacted by this pandemic, negotiation is one of them. Acing negotiations is extremely critical now with business impacted across industries. While master negotiators would always prefer an in-person interaction, the current situation has turned the tables around demanding the human side of negotiation encounters to be intact. 

Last week, I mentioned about some tips for virtual accountability and ownership within teams. This week let’s highlight top 5 tried-and-tested tips for acing virtual negotiations. 

1. Mutually plan and prepare beyond the agenda. A mutual consensus on the negotiation process is critical prior to logging in to the platform. It saves time but it also helps to build rapport – you are, after all, being respectful of the other party’s time and inputs. 
2. Starting it right gives you control. After you have logged in, do not jump to give the opening offer. Pause, greet, set the context, and then start. 
3. How you communicate matters more than what. Remember to address the person with their name (that gains attentions in a virtual environment where there is no obligation to be engaged) and be more specific with your rationale. If you disagree with something, do not just say “I choose to disagree with you here”. Rather, say, “I choose to disagree with the point that …..”.  
4. Reflection time, breaks help. Do not forget to take breaks especially when you think you are in a power-down position or the tension in the virtual room is escalating. No non-verbal communication can make matters worse. Some time-off gives time to think before restarting the conversation.  
5. Do not bask in glory and forget the human on the other side. Remember to summarize and document the decision made. But also remember that your “excess” happiness of winning the deal may not go down well with the other party. Respect the space and emotions. Try not to mess up the relationship built so far by closing on a not-so-happy note for the other party.  

Those are five tips that has helped my team and me in negotiating through virtual platforms. What mantras are you using? Feel free to share in the comments.