During a negotiation a lot of promises and agreements are made by both sides of the table. This is all well and good, but the ultimate goal of any negotiation is for both sides to agree on a deal that they can live with. As a negotiator, it's going to be your job to take a look at where things stand in the negotiation and then package up the agreements so that they can be included in the final deal. What You'll Find Inside: THE POWER OF DELAYS IN A NEGOTIATION LEARN TO THINK LONG-TERM IN YOUR NEXT NEGOTIATION WHY NEGOTIATORS SHOULD PUT A DEAD DOG ON THE TABLE WHY EVERY NEGOTIATOR SHOULD HAVE A "DEAL BOOK" As part of this process, you'll have to understand how delays can be used in a negotiation to get what you want. International negotiations can take a long time and be very complex, but they can show us how a deal can be packaged in a way that makes it agreeable to all. Issues are what a negotiation is all about. As we look for ways to package a deal, we need to understand that there can be multiple solutions to each issue. Additionally, what we do for the other side or what they do for us can help to move things along.

Everything in a negotiation can have an effect on the bottom line of the deal that you are trying to package. You need to stay aware of this. In order to find the deal that both sides can live with, it helps to be able to focus on the long term. Often times during a negotiation there can be so many things going on that it is all too easy to get lost and confused. That's why skilled negotiators use a checklist and a deal book. This allows them to keep track of all of the details and maintain a scoreboard that shows them who has agreed to what.