Negotiation Styles

[ni-goh-shee-ey-shuh n] [stahyls]

The most popular way to divide the typical negotiation styles or approaches are:

• Competing (Aggressive or Disagreeable)
• Collaborating (or Cooperating)
• Avoiding
• Compromising
• Accommodating (Conceding or Agreeable)

Most negotiators have one or two preferred negotiation styles. It’s ideal to be able to choose to apply the most appropriate negotiation style to each type of negotiation. In fact, skilled negotiators are flexible in switching their negotiating styles depending on:

• the different stages of your negotiation.
• if negotiators employing a different style.
• your role in the team.
• products or services where you enjoy an advantage or suffer a disadvantage.
• strategic or tactical overriding goals.