Negotiation is a Critical Soft Skill — What Does This Mean?

To thrive in the workplace, it’s vital that you possess all the core skills — even if they’re at varying stages of mastery. Core skills, also known as soft skills, are considered essential to performing the duties of your position. 

Negotiation is easily one of the most critical skills to possess if you’re looking to stand out and succeed at your job. Without the ability to effectively negotiate, you’re likely to encounter a number of potential pitfalls, as you go about your day-to-day duties. 

For instance, a “give and take” compromise is something you could run into while seeking a raise in your salary. You’ll need to negotiate with your superior, in order to come to an agreement that’s fair, and that you’re both satisfied with. You might also need to negotiate contract terms, promotions, and project timelines — still, this is just the beginning. Without strong negotiating abilities, you’re far less likely to succeed and progress in your job. 

The Skills Involved in Negotiation

However, while negotiation is a critical soft skill in the workplace, it isn’t a one-dimensional ability. To succeed and grow as a negotiator, you’ll need to hone a variety of other soft skills as well. Negotiation is complex, although it’s also a skill that can be learned by anyone — it isn’t an innate characteristic, which only select individuals can gain mastery over. As long as you actively work to improve your negotiation skills, you’ll begin to see improvements over time.

1. Active Listening

If you listen to your negotiation partner passively, it’s going to be difficult to effectively negotiate — if not outright impossible. To formulate your points, you need to have a clear understanding of the objectives and motivations of the other party. If you lack this insight, then you aren’t going to succeed as a negotiator. To gain this level of insight, however, you’re going to need to build up your active listening skills. Listen to what your counterpart is saying, and truly consider it — this means tuning in to any nonverbal cues they might be sending your way. 

2. Communication

Not only do you have to listen to your counterpart and retain what they’re saying, but you’ll also need to communicate clearly. Strong communication skills are vital to negotiation — if you can’t communicate clearly and effectively, you won’t be able to guide the discussion in the direction you were hoping for. Not only should you be understanding your partner through active listening, but your counterpart will also need to offer you the same courtesy. If your communication is stilted or leads to confusion, the other party will find it difficult to actively listen. 

Further, not all negotiations require the same style of communication. Depending on the situation and the parties you’re negotiating with, you may need to adapt your communication style. 

Avoid misunderstandings between you and your negotiations partner, and it will be considerably easier to reach a compromise. Clear communication is a necessity.

3. Persuasion

It’s true that negotiation is about compromise — however, this doesn’t mean that you won’t need the ability to influence others. At the end of the day, your objective should be to reach an agreement that all parties are happy with, with you receiving the slightly longer end of the stick. To achieve this goal, you’re going to need to have strong persuasive abilities, all throughout the negotiations process.

First, as you offer your counterpart your proposed solution, you’ll need to clearly communicate how it will benefit all parties involved. Using persuasion, you can lead others to understand and agree with your particular point of view. 

In a similar vein, not only will you need to be persuasive, but it’s also vital that negotiators are assertive. Through assertiveness, it will be possible for you to express yourself persuasively while remaining respectful of the other parties’ stances. 

4. Problem-Solving

At the core of negotiations, you and your debate partners are looking to reach a solution — one that every party can benefit from in the end. Generally, this involves looking at a particular problem and working together to find a viable solution. 

You’ll often face problem-solving, throughout a single round of negotiations. For instance, if you’re trying to convince your counterpart to lower a price, not only will you need strong communication and persuasion, but you’ll also need to effectively problem-solve. If you can’t offer the other party a solution, they won’t have an incentive to lower the price. This is how you can successfully compromise.

Negotiation is easily one of the most critical soft skills if you’re looking to perform at your peak in the workplace. Although negotiating is a skill in and of itself, a variety of other skills are necessary, if you’re looking to be the best negotiator you can be. By honing each of the skills listed above (as well as others), you’ll be able to master the critical skill of negotiation.

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