Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Role-play
Introduction
Agreements that matter to an organisation, from supplier contracts to cross-departmental budgets and partnership terms, are often settled by whoever prepared better rather than whoever had the stronger case. Value is conceded early, key stakeholders are consulted too late, and deals stall when a single party objects. This Core Concept course gives managers structured methods to prepare negotiations, persuade different audiences and manage the stakeholders who can make or block an outcome. Through repeated role-play, participants build a Negotiation and Stakeholder Engagement Plan for a live deal or initiative.
Course Objectives
- Map stakeholders by power, interest, legitimacy and urgency and set an engagement target for each
- Prepare a negotiation using BATNA, reservation point and ZOPA analysis and a planned concession strategy
- Apply principled negotiation to move parties from positions to interests and create options for mutual gain
- Select persuasion approaches grounded in Cialdini's principles and the Elaboration Likelihood Model to suit each audience
- Recognise hard-bargaining tactics and deadlock, and respond with structured counter-moves
- Produce a Negotiation and Stakeholder Engagement Plan for a live deal or initiative
Target Audience
- Managers who negotiate contracts, budgets and service agreements with internal or external parties
- Procurement, commercial and partnership managers accountable for supplier and partner terms
- Programme and project managers responsible for securing stakeholder support and resources
- Business development managers leading multi-party deals and joint initiatives
- Corporate affairs and relationship managers handling sensitive external stakeholders
Course Outline
Day 1: Negotiation, Persuasion and Stakeholders in Context
- Negotiation Types: Distributive, Integrative and Multi-Party
- Stakeholder Identification Using a Stakeholder Register Template
- Conflict Style Self-Assessment with the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
- Current-State Review of a Recent Negotiation Using a Deal Debrief Template
- Cross-Cultural Negotiation Dimensions Using Hofstede and Meyer's Culture Map
Day 2: Negotiation, Persuasion and Engagement Models
- Harvard Principled Negotiation: Interests, Options and Objective Criteria
- BATNA, Reservation Point and ZOPA Analysis
- Cialdini's Seven Principles of Persuasion
- Elaboration Likelihood Model: Central and Peripheral Routes
- AA1000SES Stakeholder Engagement Standard: Principles and Engagement Cycle
Day 3: Preparing and Conducting the Negotiation
- Negotiation Planning Canvas: Issues, Priorities, Trade-Offs and Opening Offers
- Anchoring and Concession Planning with a Concession Ladder
- Question Funnel and Active Listening Techniques for Uncovering Interests
- Stakeholder Salience Model: Power, Legitimacy and Urgency
- Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix: Current Versus Desired Engagement
Day 4: Difficult Negotiations and Stakeholder Risk
- Hard-Bargaining Tactics Recognition and Counter-Move Playbook
- Deadlock Breaking with the Single-Text Procedure
- Multi-Party Coalition Mapping with Lax and Sebenius 3-D Negotiation
- Ethical Persuasion Boundaries: Influence Versus Manipulation Checklist
- Stakeholder Risk Register and Issue Escalation Log
Day 5: Negotiation Role-Plays and the Engagement Plan
- Supplier Contract Renewal Negotiation Role-Play
- Cross-Departmental Budget Negotiation Role-Play
- Multi-Stakeholder Infrastructure Project Role-Play with Community and Partner Representatives
- Negotiation and Stakeholder Engagement Plan Drafting
- Recorded Debrief Using a Negotiation Outcome Scorecard
Skills You Will Gain
- Negotiation Preparation
- Interest-Based Bargaining
- Concession Management
- Persuasive Messaging
- Stakeholder Analysis
- Coalition Building
- Conflict De-escalation
- Ethical Influence
Why Attend This Course
- Return with a Negotiation and Stakeholder Engagement Plan for a live deal, tested in role-play against experienced counterparts
- Walk into the next negotiation knowing your walk-away point and the value you can afford to trade
- Spot pressure tactics as they happen and keep discussions on interests rather than positions
- Practise with managers from other sectors and cultures who negotiate in very different settings
Conclusion
Good negotiation outcomes are prepared long before the meeting begins, and they hold only when the stakeholders around the deal support them. This course moves from negotiation types and conflict styles, through principled negotiation, persuasion research and stakeholder models, to the hard tactics, deadlocks and multi-party dynamics that test them. The final day applies every method in role-play, and the Negotiation and Stakeholder Engagement Plan each participant completes gives them a prepared position for their next significant negotiation.