Are you ready to negotiate?

Check out these three videos to either reinforce or learn about negotiation skills. We all need to negotiate more than once in our lives and it is better to be prepared.

The Voluntary Life. Entrepreneurship – Part 7: Negotiations.

This podcast is one of the episodes of a series on entrepreneurship. It is very useful when you have a basic or zero negotiation knowledge/experience. The beginning of this podcast denotes the importance of negotiations in different fields of our lives. Particularly in the business world, negotiation represents the most important aspect of making business because it is all about closing deals for profit generation. With simple tips, the author explains essential bargaining principles, rather than reference to them with their formal theory or more complex explanations. Using an objective criteria or the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) options, are explained in a way that almost a child would understand them.

In the entertainment industry, you can find managers or representatives that didn’t receive formal education related to negotiation. In this case, the tips on this podcast are very helpful to change the approach to them, and advance to a successful agreement.

Management 489 – Negotiation: Second Half (Parts 1&2)

How many times have you heard: “you are asking for a ridiculous amount of money”, or “I am uncomfortable with this situation”. This video shows us two common problems regarding negotiations. First, it highlights the strategy of supporting your arguments on objective criteria such as statistics and trends. Then it explains how to separate people from the problem. Both aspects are crucial to avoid misunderstandings during a negotiation. Objective criteria support your arguments guiding to a fair agreement for both sides. Separating people from the problem regards work issues without risking work relationships.

The music industry and, more precisely, the Latin music industry, is full of deals in which friendship can be either misunderstood or used as something to rely on, when it comes to deny a request. Be aware of those didactic examples in the video to be on top of negotiation skills.  

William Ury: Negotiating for Sustainable Agreements

This video consists of a presentation of William Ury, co-author of the best seller “Getting to Yes”, and it focuses mainly on moving from positions to interests during negotiations. As the speaker indicates, “The problem in end just change in shape by changing the frame and focusing in the underlying interests behind positions” (Ury, 2009).  Ury highlights things that may seem obvious, such as listening, showing respect, and taking a brake to vent emotions. Those are the keys through which we can achieve such a change.

The entertainment industry does not escape from positional bargaining because it is highly influenced by tight schedules and deadlines. Thus, start thinking on how to improve your communication skills and get out of bargain loops right now.