Negotiation Style

I took a course on entrepreneurship here in Toronto, and a recent talk is on negotiation. The speaker is from either a law firm or a consulting firm. During the talk, he mentioned various aspects of negotiation, such as goals, styles, value distribution VS. value creation, dispute resolution (negotiation, mediation, arbitration or litigation). What I found most valuable is the three styles of negotiation he said, which are competitive, accommodating, and avoidance.

People with competitive negotiation style tend to push, push and push until the other part says NO. Accommodating people are often soft, and tend to say "OK" and make concession. Avoidance people will not negotiate at all. The negotiation styles are actually determined by personality. And there is no best style. The most effective negotiators have the style of their own, and are always assertive and empathic.

I have been through a competitive negotiation. It was during the FACES conference, and it was a mock negotiation between the Chinese and US governments on Taiwan issue. Both parties tend to push their lines and want the other party to concede. The negotiation is like a hell, but in the end, we made some deals. Afterwards, when I met people from the negotiation group on trade and economy, I was surprised that the negotiation went so "friendly" because each parties voluntarily make concessions. I had no idea why two negotiation were so different, and I know now that it is just two different style.

The blog entry for that class is here.