INTRODUCTION
However, when we get to the professional, commercial or diplomatic context, negotiations assume a significantly more conscious and deliberate effort due to the potential opportunities and high risks involved. They may be partnership agreements, or about professional services and fees, or perhaps the sale and delivery of goods. They may even involve nuclear non-proliferation treaties or serious international boundary disputes.
In these situations, we are very aware that we are negotiating and take it very seriously. Good negotiators will typically have a systematic methodology that they apply regardless of what the context and object of the negotiation might be. In this column, I would like to share with you a basic systematic approach that you can apply to any negotiation you are currently involved in, or may be in the future.