• First it is essential to be prepared, having gathered information and identified the issues involved. The need for this stage is illustrated by a football manager negotiating to buy another team’s star player.
• Next, Griff learns how important it is to create choices, inter-relate issues and keep coming up with ‘what-if’ scenarios. Here, Griff finds himself placed in the rather unnerving position of negotiating a complex spy swap with a tough government official.
• Moving on, Prof. Smith shows how important it is to have alternative options to hand so that you have f lexibility in negotiation – a lesson humorously illustrated by an awkward doorman.
• Finally, a less than honest pop star manager helps show just how crucial it is to aim for a fair agreement – because if one side or the other does not perceive an agreement to be fair, they may not implement it.

Key messages

• Prepare the background, identify the issues and gather the information
• Invent options, inter-relate the issues and keep saying ‘what-if ?’
• Develop alternatives
• Aim for a fair agreement

Good deal (session starter)
This short video introduces the ideas behind successful negotiations. In it, Griff Rhys Jones thinks he has a good deal on a second-hand car – but as Mel Smith shows him, he has failed to negotiate.

The benefits

• Improving the negotiation skills of staff benefits the whole organisation
• Effective negotiation skills help the organisation to build stable long-term relationships with suppliers and customers