International Negotiations in Practice

The training is addressed to:

• Professionals involved in international negotiations on a daily basis in business sectors such as: company cooperation, sales, logistics, procurement, finance, project management.
• Managers working in an international business environment.
• People who want to understand cultural differences and their impact on the dynamics of negotiations.
• People who want to improve communication skills in an international context.
• People who want to establish lasting business relationships with international clients.
• People who want to learn how to deal with linguistic differences.

Objectives

• Develop negotiation skills in an international business context.
• Understand cultural differences and their impact on the negotiation process.
• Build effective negotiation teams.
• Acquire practical tools and techniques for preparing for negotiations, taking into account cultural differences.
• Increase communication skills in an international context, with particular emphasis on the subtleties of communication.
• Increase the effectiveness of negotiations.
• Expand knowledge about international aspects of business and how to deal with them.
• Build long-term relationships with business partners internationally.
• Receive specific negotiation tools and strategies for immediate use in practice.
• Increase self-confidence and ability to cope with negotiation challenges, which translates into professional success.

Benefits

What makes our training unique?

• Integrated approach: Our International Negotiations in Practice program takes a holistic approach, covering a wide range of topics from cultural challenges to practical negotiation strategies. Participants gain comprehensive knowledge of the dynamics of international negotiations.
• Practical tools and techniques: We go beyond theory by providing participants with practical tools and techniques. Our emphasis is on practical applicability, ensuring that participants leave with skills they can use immediately.
• Emphasis on intercultural communication: Recognizing the crucial role of communication, especially in diverse international environments, our training places a strong emphasis on intercultural communication. Participants learn to navigate linguistic nuances and communicate their messages effectively.
• Team Building and Relationship Management: Not only do we delve into individual negotiation skills, but we also emphasize the importance of building and managing effective negotiation teams. Establishing and maintaining long-term business relationships is a key element.
• Experienced trainer: Our trainer brings extensive experience in international business negotiations. Case studies and examples are drawn from real scenarios, providing valuable insights and practical applications.
• Adaptability to Diverse Business Environments: Recognizing the ever-changing nature of international business, our program equips participants with flexible strategies. This ensures they are able to navigate diverse business environments and successfully deal with unforeseen challenges.

Day 1

Module 1 – Introduction to international negotiations

• Challenges of intercultural negotiations connected with:
  • Differences in perception of main aspects such as: time, hierarchy, dealing with uncertainty, deadlines, emotions, relations
  • Communication: reading through cultural filters, assessing by “own” experience and cultural approach
• Cultural differences in business and their impact on negotiations:
  • Time planned
  • Preparations
  • Potential obstacles
  • Recognition of the cultural approaches in business in different countries
  • Situations that may cause consternation
  • Case studies: main mistakes made in real life situations
• Recognizing the business partner’s intentions and his/her negotiating power based on cultural differences:
  • How to recognize the inner intention of the business partner?
  • Power in negotiation – how to assess my power and the power of the business partner?
  • How the power in business is perceived in different countries?
• Online negotiations vs. stationary negotiations:
  • The main differences
  • Pros & cons of each one
  • How to use online or stationary for the best benefits

Module 2 – Intercultural communication

• The role of culture in international communication:
  • Preferable channels of communication depending on different cultures
  • Ways of transmitting information: direct/indirect, formal/informal
  • What to do when relation plays the crucial role in business?
• Key cultural values ​​and their impact on the dynamics of negotiations:
  • Approach to project management
  • Approach to tasks division and tasks delegation
  • Decision making process – based on individual or group?
• Differences in communication styles and detecting subtle nuances in communication:
  • Case studies with real communication samples that caused the international conflicts. Analysis and drawing conclusions
• Communication channels – which ones to choose in a given culture
  • Why do some countries prefer written communication and others face to face? How to adjust our communication to others?
• Cultural influence on negotiation styles and persuasion techniques
  • Language of persuasion in different countries – what is the approach and examples of correct use?
• Simulation sessions and practical case studies

Module 3 – Preparation for negotiations

• Choosing the right negotiation tools and styles:
  • Based on our needs
  • Taking into account the cultural differences
  • Taking into account our power and the power of the business partners
• System for creating negotiation scenarios
  • Anticipating sticking points
  • Determining BATNA, WATNA, ZOPA based on the collected data
• Starting negotiations as a basis – who, when, why (based on cultural differences)
• Simulation session

Module 4 – Language and negotiations

• Why you should NOT translate communication and techniques 1:1 from your mother tongue into e.g. English?
• Tactical empathy – a technique used by FBI negotiators that mostly works in negotiations conducted in English:
  • Indirect approach typical for English language
  • Tactical empathy introduced by Chris Voss – ex FBI negotiator:
    • Getting into the inner motivation
    • Reading the hidden intention of the business partners that will help achieve the common goals
    • Active listening techniques which help in understanding and omitting the conflicts
    • Tactical empathy helps in dealing with emotions and develops emotional intelligence that is needed in negotiations
  • Calibrated questions – they are not used to get information, they are used to direct focus and shape thoughts
• Linguistic differences resulting from the culture of the language, which have a critical impact on communication and the outcome of negotiations
• Negotiation session

Day 2

Module 5 – Building a negotiation team

• Team or individual?
  • Which countries prefer negotiating individually and which in groups – how can we assess it?
• Selecting appropriate team members and assigning roles
  • Based on types of personalities and individual talents
• Managing roles and responsibilities in the team:
  • Who should be responsible for which part in negotiation and how?
  • Training the negotiation teams

Module 6 – Negotiation strategies and scenarios

• How to build individual and team negotiation strategies?
  • Writing the possible scenarios
  • Which strategies to choose?
• Process maps of negotiation strategies – how to arrange and work with them?
• How to deal with manipulation during negotiations:
  • How to recognize manipulation?
  • How to stop it?
  • How to move from manipulation into to negotiation?
• Being assertive in negotiation:
  • Assertiveness in different cultures – how to set the boundary in different cultures
  • Being polite vs being assertive – approach based on culture
• Negotiation session

Module 7 – Establishing business relationships with international clients

• Social Proof in negotiations:
  • Which cultures use it
  • How to prepare and use our own social proof?
• Flexibility in negotiations – how to obtain it and what limits to set:
  • Adjusting to different behaviours
  • The ability to foresee some business situations based on culture
• Ways to overcome a negotiation impasse
• Negotiation session

Module 8 – Summary

• Examples of case studies from the trainer’s experience
• Q&A session