COMMUNICATION SKILL

1. To gain attention:

If we are able to address personal questions in the initial stages of discussion then it creates very positive and amicable atmosphere. For example—

How is your son doing in his engineering course? How is your father's health?

Some cultures expect some amount of time to be spent on such questions. Real skill is to remember past personal discussions and then ask questions that are relevant to create interest of the other party.

2. Ask open questions to gather information:

Information gathering process is very critical and during this stage one should avoid questions that can be answered in 'yes' or 'no'. Ask open ended questions, offering other parties the opportunity to express themselves in their own way and disclose details you would never get from their response to a multiple choice question. For example— Rather than asking "how do like our newly released advertisement?" you should ask "what do you think will be the impact of our new advertisement in terms of our market share in the next 12 months?" By asking questions like this you will get more detailed answers, and the information obtained can help you to modify/reinforce your strategy.

3. Ask the right questions:

Questions serve a very important function in any negotiations. We ask questions in order to establish the other party's objectives, to understand their beliefs and assumptions and to help us to get control over the negotiating process. A good way to ask questions is to think about each potential question in terms of objectives, needs and climate.

• Objectives: What information do I hope to obtain by asking these questions?
• Needs: Are we making needs of all parties clear and framing questions that do not offend any body?
• Climate: Avoid anxiety and in case there is adverse change in negotiating climate then you must have back up points to repair the damage.

4. The power of silence:

When it is your turn to speak, you can use many techniques to make an effective response/impact, but one sure way is to resort to silence. Silence of a few seconds has multiple advantages—

• Time helps you to frame your response
• Makes the other party a bit tense and nervous and they may even start wondering if they have made any wrong statement
• Shows respect for the other party
• Silence shows your maturity and gives feeling that you are evaluating your response

5. Reading non verbal signs:

There are many non verbal signs that indicate if our negotiations are on track or not. Therefore, as a skilled negotiator you must keep your eyes focused on the other person's mannerisms, facial expressions and body gestures. Equally important is your ability to control your non verbal signs that will give a wrong impression to the other party. Simple things like looking at papers on your desk, looking at watch or taking eyes off can be negative signals that can affect positive climate that you have otherwise created.