Wearing my ADRg Ambassadors hat I was in London on Tuesday to give a workshop to a prominent law firm on The Psychology of Negotiation.

The people who attended spend much of their time drafting the legal clauses needed to give effect to deals already done or in prospect. They nonetheless enjoyed being taken off to the very different world of Diplomacy, where logic and rationality in negotiation do not always exist and certainly do not always prevail.

We ran a short roleplay based on an attempt to cut a quick deal over an education initiative in a developing country. The Minister, an NGO, a UN organisation and a major international corporation all have things to offer and things they want and don’t want. How best to present themselves in the meeting – and to help steer the meeting to a positive outcome?

The fascinating thing about even very short roleplays is not that they are ‘realistic’, but that the way people behave in them has all sorts of real-life resonance. Some talk too much, or get sidetracked into detail and don’t really say what they need to say. The chair of the meeting either grips the event from the start, or doesn’t. People start to put annoying words into the mouths of other people. Some people say almost nothing – but nonetheless by saying nothing cleverly they get towards the outcome they want.

As we discussed it afterwards, it was especially interesting to hear how different people interpreted the relative strengths and weaknesses of the parties in the scenario. One side had had little to offer but had made up for it by being confident and assertive. Maybe too much so? Another side had ‘felt’ weak and so been reticent and less effective.

In short, the objective balance of forces had not been enough to determine the outcome – the subjective aspects of psychology and tactics too had played a part.

Conclusion? The skilled negotiator needs a full tool-box. And listens astutely to what other people are saying, both when they’re speaking and when they are staying silent 

Charles Crawford’s workshop was engaging, informative and a real eye-opener.  His techniques can be a valuable tool for anyone involved in commercial negotiations and his practical real-life examples really bring it to life 

Great stuff. Anyone else interested?