An introduction to negotiating
5. Communication skills in negotiation
A negotiation is a communication process, so communication skills are essential. Two related and essential skills, particularly in integrative approaches, are listening and questioning.
5.1 Listening
You need to be an active and critical listener. Active listening will help you build rapport, and gather information more effectively. Critical listening will help you interpret and evaluate the information provided, and respond appropriately. Here are some tips for better active and critical listening:
- Prepare to listen: Do background research well in advance of the meeting, and set out the questions you are going to ask – see section 4.1. Just before the meeting, get ready to listen by getting your stationery and other related equipment ready so that when the negotiations start you can give the person you are dealing with your full attention and you can focus on what they are saying. Importantly, go into negotiations with the intention to understand and learn.
- Pay attention: You need to concentrate on what people are saying. But be clear about what you are listening for. Is it for facts, generalisations, views, or the person’s feelings about the issue?
- Be objective: Have an open mind – don’t assume you have all the facts or that the person you are in conversation with has a hidden agenda. Be open to new information, ideas and perspectives. Even if you have strong views on an issue suspend judgment, and avoid being critical.
- Be encouraging: Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal cues to show interest in what the other party is saying. Verbal cues will include 'I see' and 'mmm'. Non-verbal cues will include nodding and eye contact.
- Clarify to ensure accuracy and develop ideas: Ask questions about any issue that is unclear to you, or to confirm you have understood what they’ve said. Also ask questions to encourage the other to develop their thinking on issues.
- Summarise at appropriate points: At key points or milestones in the negotiations, summarise points, agreements or the conversation so far. This will help ensure you have understood what has been said, and clarify what the next stages of the negotiations will be.
- Don’t fear silences: Don’t feel you need to fill silences with conversation. There will be points where both parties will need to reflect on what has been said. Silences can also encourage the other party to talk further.
5.2 Questioning
Questions are used to gather information, build rapport and agree actions. Questions are either open or closed - both have their purposes. Table 2 outlines some basic types of questions you might use in negotiations.
Table 2 Question types with examples
| Question type | Example |
| Explanatory To get reasons and explanations; to broaden discussion; to elicit additional information |
In what way would this help sort the problem? What other aspects of the process should be considered? |
| Justifying To challenge ideas; to develop new ideas; to elicit reasons and proof |
What evidence do you have to support this view? How do you know? Why do you think so? Why is this issue important? |
| Leading To introduce new ideas; to propose suggestions; to seek agreement |
Could this be a viable solution? Can we consider this as a possible alternative? |
| Hypothetical To develop new ideas; to put forward alternative perspectives; to change the course of the discussion; to test knowledge and thinking |
Another function does it this way – what might happen if you did things in the way they do it? |
| Alternative To make decisions between alternatives; to seek solutions |
Which solution is more appropriate – A or B? Why do you regard this solution as more appropriate? |
|
Closed questions |
Can we agree that X is the next step? Will you get back to me by X? |
Adapted from Pastor, 2007, p. 78
Summary
- Internal auditors negotiate with clients and other stakeholders throughout the engagement process.
- There are different types of negotiation strategies, but they can be grouped into two: integrative and distributive. Integrative strategies are more likely to garner commitment and motivation of the parties to deliver agreed actions. And they are more likely to help the parties learn from one another. For these reasons, integrative strategies have advantages over distributive ones for internal audit.
- The four key stages of the negotiation process are preparation, discussion, decision-making and closing.
- In negotiations, the internal auditor needs to elicit information from the other parties, so they need to have good listening and questioning skills.
What next?
Interested in developing your interpersonal skills? Then have a look at our range of training courses, including:
References
Bannock, G., Davis, E., Trott, P., and Uncles, M. (2002), The new Penguin business dictionary, London (UK), Penguin Books.
Gates, S. (2011), The negotiation book, Chichester (UK), John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Kennedy, G., Benson, J., and McMillan, J. (1987, 3rd edn), Managing negotiations: how to get a better deal, London (UK), Hutchinson Business.
McCraken, S., Salterio, S.E., and Schmidt, R.N. (2011), ‘Do managers intend to use the same negotiation strategies as partners?, Behavioural research in accounting, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 131-160.
Pastor, J. (2007), Conflict management and negotiation skills for internal auditors, Florida (USA), Global IIA.
Silltow, M., and Boutall, T. (2010), Interpersonal skills for audit and assurance, London, IIA.
Weiss, J., Donigian, A., and Hughes, J. (2010), ‘Extreme negotiations’, Harvard Business Review, November, pp. 67- 75.