Negotiation is a basic process consisting of communicating back and forth to get what you want from others. Communicating is extremely important in negotiating. It requires you to express ideas clearly and listen intently. We will briefly look at both of these components to effective communication.

Communicate Clearly

The ability to communicate clearly, to express ideas so that the other party can understand, is an essential negotiating skill. Weak communication may sink the negotiating process, so improve your skills, so your negotiations do not falter.

Revealing your position at the earliest opportunity is not what I mean by being clear. It just means you should speak, write, or otherwise communicate so your intended audience understands the message you wish to convey. This sounds simple, but there are a lot of misunderstandings at the negotiating table. The key to clear communication is to think of what you want your listener to do, think, or feel as a result of the communication. Do not think of yourself and what you want to tell the listener. Think of the result you want your communication to achieve and how best to successfully obtain the desired result.

First be clear with yourself regarding what you want. Then present your ideas so the listener can understand. If your listener becomes lost, it is your responsibility to help them get back on track. Do not assume anything. Be sure your points are understood.

Listen

The second part of effective communicating is listening. This is one of the most underrated skills in negotiating. Successful negotiators spend more time listening than talking. Donald Trump pointed out in “How to Get Rich,” “If you walk into a negotiation and know nothing about the other party, let them talk, listen to their tone, observe their body language, and determine whether they really want to make a deal or just show you how smart they are.” Listening helps you prepare, and we all know how important preparation is.

Listening is fundamental to negotiations, and not only that, good listening skills will improve your business life as well as your personal life. How many marriage problems have you heard of that started with, “He never listens to me,”? Not listening results in the other party feeling unimportant, and in business this can lead to losing the deal.

Active listening involves all the senses, and is the key to effective listening. You must take in everything the other party is communicating. This means both verbally and non-verbally. If the other person is not communicating clearly, you must assist them in opening up and communicating their ideas so you understand. Restate and paraphrase what you have heard to ensure the message you received is what the other party intended to communicate.

You cannot listen and talk at the same time, or at least not effectively, so know when to be quite and listen. Many deals are lost when someone keeps talking after discussion was necessary or desirable. To be successful, you must be a good listener. Work on this skill and you will open a door to more successful relationships and broader dimensions while negotiating.

In every business meeting, you will meet different groups of people who could be your future clients. On behalf of your company, you have to introduce your company background and portfolio before introducing products to your future clients. Therefore, you will distribute your business card which it contains all particulars as mentioned earlier. Interestingly, you can use this approach in your Powerpoint presentations.

Please do not misunderstand that you copy-and-paste your card into your slides which is totally absurd doing it. In the beginning of the business meeting, show your audiences what your company is currently offering – for example if you are working in a legal firm, then you display the types of legal services that are available for your clients. Certainly, based on the display, you need to include your company name and motto.

When it comes to create this particular slide, it is indeed simple as it requires basic slide layout. It can be either classical black-or-white or colorful slide layout. It is based on your company portfolio. For example, it is indeed dull when you use classic black-and-white layout for entertainment-related companies. Classic black-and-white approach is more suitable for elegant and formal-looking companies.

A good introduction whether it is based on your speech or your slide display, both of it is extremely important in every opening of the business meeting. If you are able to make a good introduction display, you will be able to start being permissive in promoting your company products and services. Finally, your Powerpoint presentations with the ‘business card’ introduction able to minimize your time on introduction so you can allocate more time in the company product promotion.