Christmas can be celebrated in many different and fun ways! This Christmas could be a good time to try some new celebrations besides the usual ones. How about baking ginger cookies, wrapping them up nicely and taking them friends and loved ones that you haven’t seen much in the past year? It could even be a good idea to encourage your children to participate in various Christmas activities like Christmas parties and get together, organized by your community or church! They’ll be taught many useful things about Christmas, while enjoying the festive atmosphere! You could start a brand new Christmas tradition for you and your family!

Christmas will always be the most anticipated time of the year for children and those who feel like children in their hearts! One of the reasons children love Christmas so much, is the Christmas presents that their parents buy for them! For a child, nothing beats the excitement of unwrapping the presents under the tree on Christmas morning and nothing will put a bigger smile on their face than the discovery of the presents they asked for! The top Christmas presents for kids will always be toys, especially if they are younger! Clothes may seem like a wise and useful purchase to the parents, but the children usually don’t share these feelings!

If you are a parent, it’s very important to remember how you felt about Christmas when you were a kid! This will greatly help you pick the right Christmas present for your kids, which will in turn make their enjoyment of Christmas even greater! Girls will be longing for beautiful Barbie dolls, colorful bags and cooking toys while balls, toy robots, cars and toys based on popular characters from television, comics and movies like Spider-Man, Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story and Shrek will make perfect Christmas presents for boys of all ages! Even if you can’t come up with any ideas for your kids’ Xmas presents, the top Christmas Presents 2010 list available in many sites and online stores, will provide you with many useful suggestions and ideas!

Shopping for Christmas gifts during the holiday season can be a very frustrating and sometimes even horrific experience! Shopping centers will definitely be overcrowded and you are going to have to wait in long lines, sometimes even for hours, to get in and out of stores! Fortunately, there is a way to avoid all this! Thanks to online shopping you can buy your presents and have them delivered to your door without having to leave the comfort of your home! Online shopping is easy and stress free!

No matter where you decide to do your Christmas shopping using the Top Christmas Presents lists, you’ll be able to find the best present for anyone ensuring a truly merry Christmas for you and your family and loved ones!

There have been many famous Partners. They have become famous because they work together seamlessly and take advantage of one another’s strengths. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Brooks and Dunn, Abbott and Costello, Sonny and Cher, Martin and Lewis, and Batman and Robin are examples of perfect Partners. How many keynote speakers are Partners? How often do teachers or professors Partner to deliver a class or lecture? It’s really not something we see everyday, except in the world of business. It’s not unusual to see two presenters at staff meetings, conventions, conferences, and seminars. Often, the boss or a more experienced presenter is the lead person and their “Presentation Partner”, is learning from their tutelage.

As anyone who has delivered a day long seminar knows, it is difficult to stay fully engaged and focused all day. That is another reason people team up with another to present a topic.

There are many reason’s people provide Partner Presentations and the “Partnering Pro,” Terry Wisner shares his seven key success factors for presentation Partners need to consider.

1) First and foremost, introduce yourselves and explain why the two of you are there. Tell them what each of you bring to the party and how they, the audience, will benefit. A great way to begin the presentation is to literally introduce your Partner and tell the participants what portion of the content they will cover. Then, of course, your Partner will deliver an introduction of you and the points you will discuss.

2) As always, the audience needs to know where they are going. Share an agenda and tell them what each Partner is doing. It’s a good idea to post this or have a copy on the table for everyone. Here’s a tip: Alternate the font (style and color) between speaking Partners on the agenda. This will serve as a visual aid to help the audience see where they are going.

3) The famous Partners mentioned earlier were, and are, successful for many reasons. They often talk about chemistry and how they know what the other Partner is going to do. Make certain you and your Partner know exactly what the other plans to do and say. Don’t trip over each other and make sure you display confidence in one another. Meeting attendees will sense any confusion or frustration from the stage and your message will be lost.

4) Abbott and Costello were great Partners on radio and later on the Silver Screen. One of their most famous radio bits was “Who’s on First?” Unlike those two in the classic skit, it is extremely important that you agree on which Partner is on first. The alternation between Partners striking a balance of time and content. One of the biggest distractions, in joint presentations, is when the Partner seemingly stands around waiting for their turn, and then gets up on stage, says a few words and just as quickly exits the stage. If there isn’t balance, there probably isn’t a reason to have the second person on stage.

5) In order to perform #2 well, be sure to make clear transitions. When one Partner has completed their section or topic, make a physical and literal “handoff” to the other Partner. Some ideas that work here are: Handover the microphone, check off the item on the agenda that was just completed, and then introduce the Partner and their topic. Wrap-up your topic and ask your Partner what they are going to talk about. Have a different template or look on your visual aids. There are many ways to make a clear shift during a presentation while maintaining the attention of the listeners.

6) When you’re not up…be there! Often, people who regularly co-present or deliver training violate this rule. Have you ever seen a co-presenter go to the back of the room, sit at the “instructors table”, and read the USA Today? Partners need to stay in the game. Baseball players don’t sit in the dugout reading the paper when their fellow players are up to bat. Neither should a presentation Partner. In fact, the Partner should sit off to one side and actively listen. This also allows them to watch the addresses and evaluate how well they (the audience) are getting the message. It is also important to note that Partners should never interrupt the other. The point you want to make can wait until you get up and make the transition. Besides, the audience probably won’t benefit enough to outweigh the distraction.

7) Always wrap-up the presentation with both Partners on stage. Show sincere appreciation for and thank each other. My presentation Partner and I will summarize the other’s points, check for acceptance of the audience, and then encourage listeners to implement their action plans.

There are many reasons why most of us don’t like to hear Partner Presentations. Basically, they come off as clumsy and awkward. If you find yourself in the discomfited position of having to give one, implement these seven steps. You, your Partner and your audience will be glad you did. Your audience will walk away having enjoyed a Perfect Partner Presentation.
Partnering is the hottest thing in the personal change strategy arena. Try it and become more successful.

When you are presenting financial results on a PowerPoint slide, do not overwhelm your audience by displaying too many numbers on a slide. Use the power of your numbers to support your conclusion. Do not make the mistake of thinking that “the numbers will speak for themselves.” They do not!. Numbers need to be analyzed and explained. Do not allow your numbers-filled slide deck to overshadow you, the presenter.

Your audience came to listen to you. They came to hear your opinions and conclusions. They came to see the trends that you have discovered during your analysis. Use the power of your numbers strategically during your presentation. Reveal your numbers point by point on your slides as you direct discussion of the meaning of the numbers. If you display too many numbers on a slide you risk boring your audience and putting them into a mind numbing coma. By discussing the meaning of the numbers you will engage your audience. Don’t dump blocks of numbers on to the screen Bring your numbers to life; give them meaning. Animate your charts to liven up your presentation!

Here are five tips to help you to effectively present numbers during your presentation:

1. Create a Relevant Handout. Your handouts need to include more than just the “four slides to a page” format that many speakers use. Your handout should contain relevant facts and links to helpful resources. Your slide show is not your presentation, nor should it be your handout.
2. Use the Notes Page in PowerPoint to Create Your Handout. As you create your slides, develop the habit of using the “Notes View” in PowerPoint for listing your sources and your background notes. Then you can “polish” your notes and distribute them as your handout.
3. Communicate Trends with Graphics on Your Slides. Notice that I said “graphics.” In addition to using charts, you can use tables to compare options or use SmartArt diagrams and other shapes to illustrate concepts. When you do use numbers, display only the significant numbers, You can put the details in your handout. Consider your audience. Don’t force them to squint and strain their eyesight.
4. Use the Appropriate Chart Type on Your Slide. Understand the purpose of each chart type: Use a Column Chart to show comparisons – usually over time moving from Left to Right. Bar Charts are not Column Charts turned on their side. Use a Bar Chart to show results in a “Top to Bottom” order. Pie Charts display the parts that make up 100 percent of the category. Line Charts help us to see the trends in the numbers. When you use a chart, be careful to only display “significant” numbers. For example, limit your pie slices to four categories: The top three numbers and then collect all of the other numbers into the fourth slice.
5. Animate Your Charts to Direct the Discussion. When appropriate, apply Custom Animation to your Chart Slides in PowerPoint. With animation, you can introduce one series or category at a time. This will help your audience to see the correlations in your numbers and to compare one category of numbers with another. Used effectively, chart animations will engage your audience in the discussion and this will lead to improved comprehension of the subject matter that you are presenting.

If you would like to learn how to apply custom animation to a chart in PowerPoint, here is a link to a video demonstration of this technique:

http://www.thecompanyrocks.com/how-to-display-numbers-during-a-powerpoint-presentation/

Always remember that when you are in the front of the room, you are the presentation. Design your presentation so that the numbers that you display enhance the quality and value of your presentation. Do not allow the numbers to become the presentation. If you do, then your host will seriously question why it was necessary to hire you to deliver the presentation. Use the numbers strategically during your presentation. Do not overpower your audience with number upon number. Guide the discussion of the meaning of the numbers and you will display your professionalism and your mastery of the numbers. Then, you will be invited back to speak to your audience. They will remember you and welcome you back.

Could our current fixation with the PowerPoint presentation inspire a future generation to critically analyse this turn of the century social convention? Will our focus on this presentation style be worthy of social commentary? In much the same way that today’s graduates smirk at how we used to send memos in the internal post will our business successors marvel at the convention that is is PowerPoint?

If the answer is, “no”, then I hope it is because the convention is short-lived; that somehow we ditch the idea that because we can create some text rich slides on our notebook we can, therefore, present at will. The one does not follow the other. There is a lot more to giving an effective presentation based on PowerPoint slides than just creating the slides themselves. There are 10 main tips that I follow:

1. Don’t forget the basics. As a speaker our role is to entertain, motivate, inspire, persuade, cajole or inform an audience. No matter the sophistication of the software we have at our finger tips the prime role we play is no different. If the software gets in the way of our main role we should not use it. All the speaker techniques and effects remain totally applicable when PowerPoint is used.
2. Go light on the bullet points. PowerPoint defaults can push us into one of a number of presentation slide formats (text and content layouts) that feature bullet lists. If we use them we should be careful. Bullet lists should summarize — in one, two or three words per bullet — each of the points we want to make. When we fill each bullet point with words we run the risk of exhausting our audience. The lists themselves should also be kept brief. A few bullets only. Not a whole slide full of them.
3. Go easy on the data. Yes, we have to show how we reach a conclusion or a recommendation — but we do not need to show all the data available to us. A deluge of data projected on to the back wall of the meeting room is just not going to be read. Our audience wants to scan for trends. They will seek anomalies and they want to know causes. Our audience is not in a position to digest huge chunks of data and we should respect that.
4. Use only one word where two might do. Editing our material is a necessity. We have to keep our material succinct, readable and indicative of our main points so our audience can take it all in. PowerPoint lends itself to superb graphics, image display and video. These are the most powerful parts of the package and we should aim to use them more as speaker supports. Whatever we do, however, we should not be tempted to use the copy/ paste function to introduce chunks of text from another document into the PowerPoint presentation slide format. It won’t work.
5. Don’t read the slides. PowerPoint tends to encourage us to read from our own slides – from either the notebook screen display or the larger projection screen. Both are inappropriate. They indicate that we are using the slides as a crutch. Reading from the screen also ensures that we don’t have eye contact with the audience and run the risk of blocking the audience’s view. But worst of all, reading our slides suggests that we do not know our own material, we are unsure of its content and we have not rehearsed. Audiences respect expertise and authority in their presenters — reading our slides suggests neither.
6. Reference the points on the slides. Clearly we use PowerPoint slides for a purpose. Either to summarize our main points or to illustrate them. Given the purpose, therefore, it’s incumbent on us to actually reference these points once they are illustrated. Try to pause. Indicate the point, look back to the audience and make the reference. Doing this joins up our talk with our slide show — helping our audience to digest the main points.
7. Use the slide build technique. This is a PowerPoint jewel that is under used. It deserves more attention not least because it lends itself to an interactive approach in our presentation. Using slide build techniques we can reference a point on the display screen, we can ask an open question of the audience and then we can all witness an answer appear on the screen. This could be a word build or a graph display. The options are practically limitless. All the settings are accessed via the Slide Show, Animation Scheme settings in PowerPoint. Again, the cautionary note, we shouldn’t allow the technology to take over — but there’s great opportunity here.
8. Use the black slide technique. We often need to take stock during a presentation — to confirm where we are or the direction in which we are headed. At this moment we need our audience’s total focus on us the speaker. We don’t want a distracting slide on the display screen. It’s tempting to project a corporate logo or a title slide. These are OK but can still be a distraction. Instead we should use a black slide (Format, Background, Colors, Apply to Selected). The black slide gives the impression that we have switched off the projector or the notebook. Naturally our audience switches their attention to us. Once our point is made we can continue with our slides. The technique also works at the close of a presentation.
9. Use fonts and font sizes carefully. PowerPoint will always default to a selected font and font size when we prepare a slide presentation. Our task is to either stick with the default arrangement or use a better option for the job. When we use alternative fonts and font sizes our drivers should be: readability and consistency. Some fonts are made for reading at a distance — others are not. Fonts can signal structure changes such as titles, sub-titles and content. But when applied indiscriminately they don’t signal anything other than a mess. Over capitalization is also a major blow to legibility. It appears that the human race is not designed to read in CAPITAL LETTERS — the upper case, lower case approach is best. PowerPoint will advise us when we are being a little too extreme in our selections — but many of us have already turned off the Office Assistant!
10. Take it steady with the imagery. Slide colour schemes can actively hinder the readability of our PowerPoint slides. Reading red or green text at a distance is tough. Plan to use dark text colours (black or blue) out of a white background if you can. Or, where corporate colour schemes are used with a template format aim for crisp white lettering out of a dark background. We noted earlier that PowerPoint is superb at incorporating high quality visuals (not necessarily Clip Art!) into our presentations. These should be used wherever possible. But take the cautionary point not to overdo the whiz bang effects in the slide show menus (Slide Show, Slide Transition and Slide Show, Animation Schemes).

Any slide presentation can distract an audience from their speaker. But by sticking to the basic principles of giving a presentation and noting both the advantages and disadvantages of PowerPoint we can use this package to its full effect. Our slides are not a crutch — we should still prepare fully. Our slides are not designed to be read by us, the speaker — we should still rehearse. And our slides should be consistent with our primary purpose of entertaining, motivating, inspiring, persuading, cajoling or informing. If we note these principles our audiences will not smile at our PowerPoint convention. But they will respect our expertise and authority as presenters.

Most of us know how to make a PowerPoint presentation from a technical standpoint. But how do you grab the attention of your audience during your PowerPoint presentation?

And more importantly, how do you get your audience to remember and be excited about your presentation days, weeks, or even years from now?

Here’s 10 killer PowerPoint presentation must dos:

1) Do NOT have slides overloaded with text that you read. Everyone knows how to read and this is the #1 complaint of presentation attendees. You’ll lose their attention on the first slide if you read word for word.

Also, do not have text fly, spiral, or zoom in. Use the “appear” effect so the text can be read easily and then the focus is on you. Additionally, turn the pointer off for less distraction.

2) Use unusual, memorable pictures. It is true that a picture says 1,000 words. Surprise your audience with unique visuals that get your message across in a meaningful way.

For example, if you’re presenting on food safety, why not show a picture of a sick elephant after eating rotten heads of lettuce? Or investing information as bags of gold instead of boring charts of precious metals?

Even better is to use video clips on your slides as well as pictures.

3) Remember the magic number of 4. It has been proven in studies that people have a short term memory of remembering 4 or 5 slides. Be sure that your main points are contained in 4 slides

4) Use the power of “you” and “yours”. During your presentation, engage your audience by saying you and yours. Audiences tend to perk up when they believe you’re talking directly to them.

5) Tell an engaging story during your PowerPoint presentation. Just as people remember pictures better than text, they remember stories better than bullet points and graphs.

6) Take the time to get to know who your audience is and what their struggles and problems are. Plan to solve a problem during your presentation and you’ll be remembered as the hero!

7) When using text or bullet points, use “what not to do” instead of “what to do” to make it more memorable for your audience. Negative phrases are remembered better that non-negative phrases.

End with a great concluding slide. All to often, presentations end with no meaningful or thought provoking last slide. It’s as if the presenter ran out of slides. Make sure you know the number of your conclusion slide so you can jump to it if your presentation ends early.

9) Practice Makes Perfect! Take the time to do a couple dry runs of your PowerPoint presentation so you’re comfortable. It’s difficult to watch a presenter struggle with a poorly prepared presentation.

Additionally, make sure you leave time for any questions or comments.

10) Most importantly, smile and relax as best you can. Your audience really wants you to do a good job and understands presenting can be challenging.

This is an area in which many people have fairly little experience before their student years. For the first time you are a part of a community in which you play an adult and engaged role. As an academic you are in a position to change minds, and as a member of a university you are entitled to make your views known. Besides this, you will probably have more to do with letting agents, landlords, banks and businesses than ever before, and may even choose to involve yourself in the logistical aspect of organising student union and society events like balls, parties, plays and so on which will require some confidence as a negotiator.

Whatever the context, the cardinal rule is to remain civil and respectful. However successful or otherwise your negotiations may prove to be, it’s important not to burn bridges: you can maintain a strong negotiation position without upsetting or provoking other people. The thing to remember is that in a negotiation both sides want something – and all too often you may find yourself up against someone who just wants a quiet life and is prepared to interfere to a great extent in your plans in order to get one. This can be frustrating, and the trick is to maintain your cool. Don’t be afraid to be persistent, but try also the be fair – if people feel that you are genuinely engaged in trying to see things from their perspective and are willing to make some allowance and give them some time to come round to your way of thinking that can help a lot. Occasionally you will run up against someone or something so stubborn you have to find a way to work around them, and particularly in cases like this the ideal is to be as frank and open as possible without offending anyone. Students are often seen as querulous, and this rarely works in their favour. If you can show yourself not to conform to this stereotype, however, that may go a long way towards helping you plead your case.

Negotiations need not necessarily be conducted one to one. In the case of a problem with a letting agent, for instance, your first approach might be by telephone, your second by e-mail and your third by letter – or that process might be reversed depending on your relationship and the matter at hand. The advantage of written communication is that records are easier to maintain, and certainly any formal complaint should be written and copies retained – as well as sent to people who may be in a position to help resolve a dispute. In the example of the letting agent, this might include your student union’s housing officer, a welfare officer attached to the university, or even your local council. Dispute is best avoided, however, and it’s worth trying to resolve things amicably before matters come to a head. That said, sometimes negotiations do break down and you may be forced to assume a posture which is adversarial, in which case be doubly sure of your ground and continue to conduct all your correspondence and conversations respectfully and politely. By placing yourself above reproach in this way you stand a better chance of carrying wider support for your position, and if nothing else you make friends for the future. It is never enjoyable losing an argument, but it is worse when it leads to a feud or a breakdown in communications – the end of a negotiation, from which point it is often difficult to make progress.

Be polite, be respectful, be firm, and be flexible as and where you can. By making some concessions on your part you will encourage your counterpart to do likewise, and this may ultimately allow you both to progress. Many negotiations will be ongoing – lasting the length of time you rent the house, for instance, in the case of the letting agent; or the length of time you serve on a committee etc. By treating your counterpart and his or her position with respect you lay the groundwork for a profitable, if occasionally fraught, relationship on both sides.

The best predictor of a good divorce outcome is the degree of client control over the negotiation–everything works much better if you have it. This doesn’t mean you should not get help and advice from an attorney if you want it; it means you are better off if you plan to do most or all of the negotiating yourself.

Studies indicate that clients feel their attorneys don’t actually give them much help or guidance anyway. In a 1976 Connecticut study, nearly half of those interviewed reported no more than three contacts with their attorney, including phone calls, while 60% said they had worked out all issues without attorney help.

A New Jersey study in 1984 considered only cases with children where both spouses had attorneys. Fewer than 20% felt their lawyers had played a major role in settlement negotiations.

So, you see, you are likely to end up dealing with the negotiation anyway and there is strong evidence that you are far better off if you do. You get a higher degree of compliance with terms of agreement, a much lower chance for future courtroom conflict, co-parenting is smoother, support payments are more likely to be made in full and on time, and you get on with your life more quickly.

Don’t expect negotiating with a spouse to be easy. There are lots of built-in difficulties–so many that you may want professional help from a good mediator. But, okay, so there are problems–that’s nothing new in the world of divorce. Let’s look at exactly what you can do about it. Here are ten steps you can take to make your negotiations work:

1. Be businesslike:

• Keep business and personal matters separate. You can talk about personal matters any time, but never discuss business without an appointment and an agenda. This is so you can both be prepared and composed.
• Act businesslike: be on time and dress for business. Don’t socialize and don’t drink; it impairs your judgment.
• Be polite and insist on reasonable manners in return. If things start to sneak into the personal or become unbusinesslike, say you’re going to stop if the meeting doesn’t get back on track. Ask to set another date. If matters don’t improve, don’t argue, don’t get mad, just get up and go.

2. Meet on neutral ground: Find a neutral place to meet, not the home or office of either spouse where there could be too many reminders, memories, personal triggers. Or the visiting spouse could feel at some disadvantage and the home spouse can’t get up and go if things get out of hand. Try a restaurant, the park, borrow a meeting space or rent one if necessary.

3. Be prepared: Get control of the facts of your own divorce; understand how the laws of your state apply to the facts; find out the probable outcomes under the law; clarify your goals. You can also prepare by trying to understand your respective emotions and past patterns. Just the fact that you are trying to do this will help make things a little better.

4. Balance the negotiating power:

• If you feel insecure, become informed, be well prepared, use an agenda, get expert advice and guidance. There’s never any need to respond on the spot: state your ideas, listen to your spouse, then think about it until the next meeting. Don’t meet if you are not calm; if the meeting doesn’t stay businesslike, don’t continue. If this happens often, consider using a professional mediator.
• If you are the stronger spouse, help build your spouse’s confidence so he or she can negotiate competently and make sound decisions. And listen, listen, listen.

5. Build agreement:

• Start with the facts: You should by now have gathered and exchanged all information. If not, complete the information gathering (see Step 6 of my article “Divorce–Overcoming Obstacles to Agreement”), then try to agree on what the facts are. Write down the facts you agree on and list exactly what facts you do not agree on. Note any competing versions then do research to resolve the difference by research and exchanging records. Compromise. If you can’t prove some fact to each other, you may have a hard time proving it in court.
• Make a list of the issues and decisions you can agree on. Write them down. This is how you build a foundation for agreement and begin to clarify the major issues between you.

Next, write down the things you don’t agree on. Always keep trying to refine your differences–to make them more and more clear and precise. Try to break differences down into digestible, bite-sized pieces.

6. Consider the needs and interests of both spouses: Avoid taking a position. Consider your needs, interests and concerns alongside the facts of your situation. Work together on brainstorming and problem-solving; look for ways to satisfy needs and interests of both spouses and try to balance the sacrifices.

7. State issues in a constructive way: “Reframing” is when you restate things in a more neutral way, to encourage communication and understanding.

For example: One spouse says, “I have to keep the house.” Reframe: “What I would like most is to keep the house, that’s my first priority, because . . . What the house means to me is . . .”

8. Get legal advice: Typically, legal questions come up as you negotiate. Get advice; find out if the laws of your state provide a clear, predictable outcome on your particular issue. Don’t hesitate to get more than one opinion.

9. Be patient and persistent: Don’t rush, don’t be in a hurry. Divorces take time and negotiation takes time.

Whenever someone hears a new idea, it takes time to percolate. It takes time for people to change their minds. It may take time to shift your mutual orientation from combative to competitive to cooperative. So don’t just do something; stand there! A slow, gradual approach takes pressure off and allows emotions to cool.

10. Get help: Negotiating with your spouse may not be easy; you’re dealing with old habits, raw wounds, entrenched personality patterns–all the obstacles to agreement all at once. A third person can really help keep things in focus.

Mediators are professionals who are specially trained to help you negotiate; they are expert at helping couples get unblocked and into an agreement. Mediation is very effective and it usually goes quickly.

Before you begin to negotiate, get a copy of Make Any Divorce Better (the book from which this article was excerpted) for you and your spouse. Then, if possible, discuss parts of it together.

There are many good books about negotiation, but one of the best and easiest to read is the little (150-page) Penguin paperback by Fisher and Ury, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, available at www.divorcehelp.com, along with other recommended books and software.

Copyright 2005 Ed Sherman

We all need to bargain when we want to exchange something with another person or entity. Negotiation skills are required when you negotiate to buy a car, ask for a salary increase, decide on a suitable time for an appointment, marry, divorce…etc.

Negotiation is a very important skill for our daily social lives and work. When you do business negotiations, your negotiation techniques are different to those when you want to get married. If you are the buyer, your negotiation skills are different from the seller.

I believe that the best way to learn the best bargaining skills is to learn from kids!! Have you faced a kid who wants to buy a certain toy? No matter what excuses you give them, they will find an alternative solution for you. When you use the terms “I’ll see”, “let’s discuss it tomorrow”, the kids will come with a very creative alternative to make you go and buy the toy for them.

You will see later on that if you are a buyer, say buying a house, you might want to consider a 3rd party to negotiate on your behalf. If you desperately want the house, you will score a very bad deal usually because the seller which is represented by a professional seller (the real-estate agent) will sense you urge to buy the house and will not budge on the price. Getting a friend to negotiate the price will ensure that he will represent your interest in the house moderately. Though, this friend needs to have the required negotiation skill!

Sometimes we call the above process negotiation, bargaining, compromise, or simply exchange. One thing for sure in this life is that everything is negotiable. Don’t be intimated when you walk to a shop and you see the sign “the price is fixed”. You can negotiate everything. If the sales man in the showroom is on commission, he or she will negotiate.

The negotiation skill is a survival skill for managers. Negotiating skill helps the manager with his team building efforts, finding the right resources, negotiating a better deal for this team, and negotiating salaries, just to name a few.
Author: http://www.skills-guide.com

When it comes to the average commercial property sale, the high values that form the elements of the negotiation are seldom beaten or excelled by any other industry. Some properties sell for millions of dollars or pounds (depending on your currency), and the parties to the deal are very aware of the potential to make the wrong choices or early choices without all the facts. It is not in their interest to open up on all ideas and demands too early in the negotiation.

If mistakes are made in the negotiation then the financial impact can be great on the parties to the deal; the impact of a poor choice can be felt for years. Good real estate negotiators understand the pressures of the final moments of negotiation, and carefully examine the signals coming from all the parties.

The more deals you do as a professional salesperson the easier it gets to read the signals of the negotiation coming from the parties. There is a single golden rule to negotiation that is worthwhile remembering in all the negotiations that you do; everything that is said is only a part of the full story. Look for more twists and turns to the negotiation; look for other motivations and outcomes. Look for the secret outcome or solution. Find their point of ‘property pain’ and you will find the negotiation solution.

Here are a few clues to reading the parties in the negotiation:

1. Observe the placement or zone the person is negotiating from at the table or in the room. Are they away from others or are they in close proximity? If they are remote then they are trying to preserve their position and may not play all the negotiation cards at first request. They do not want to connect yet.
2. As you ask questions watch their eyes and head positions as they respond. If they are responding and looking directly at you then you know they are fully in the negotiation and their comments are real. If they are not responding to you, but generally to the space in the room, they are not playing all their cards and ideas yet. They have secrets they have not told you yet.
3. Are they agitated or calm? Movement will be a giveaway sign of some anxiety and worry. If you ask more questions at this point you will usually find out what is at the centre of their feelings and concerns. This strategy is what they call a ‘Freudian Slip’, and all good negotiators use it as a tool or tactic to get to the real negotiation point or problem.
4. The words and dialogue they use are important in a few ways. The speed of speech, the tone of voice, and the flow of conversation will all send out signals.
5. Gestures and postures in the negotiation will send further messages about the dialogue or words they speak. Are they leaning into the conversation or leaning out or away? This is a real sign of connection or disconnection and will have value in the negotiation.

Negotiations do not have to be hard or difficult. We all have a natural skill to interpret other people; you simply need to watch and observe.

One of the most vital skills in life generally is negotiation. Negotiation occurs when two or more people communicate with the intention of reaching a mutually beneficial understanding on a given matter. To an entrepreneur, negotiation skills are a must as you interact with suppliers, customers, investors, employees, bankers and any other stakeholders, whether internal or external, to your enterprise.

First and foremost, you can only be a winning negotiator when you are prepared. You need to consider in advance issues such as the key things you are negotiating for, your negotiation objectives, assumptions in your negotiation, some information about the negotiating party, their attributes including strengths and weaknesses, and what is important to them. Good preparation greatly improves your chances of winning a negotiation.

It is also strongly advisable to work for a win-win situation while negotiating a deal. When you only focus your negotiation on what adds value to you or your enterprise, without considering the other party, hence making them feel cheated, most likely you will not win the negotiation. When you manifest fairness, considering the situations of both parties, you are likely to win a negotiation. Put yourself in the other party’s shoes. As an entrepreneur you clearly understand that business thrives on win-win scenarios. Lack of win-win negotiation scenarios create complications at a later stage.

Lay emphasis on areas of agreement early and defer discussing areas of fundamental disagreements for a later time. Psychologically there comes a sense of progress and fulfilment when you agree on several things, and this also tends to compel both parties to proceed and finalize the few other areas of disagreement. Use some wisdom to diffuse stalemates when they occur. In this way, you can keep the negotiation going on for a while.

Have at your disposal several alternatives that you can wisely put forward, one at a time, to ensure you do not leave the negotiating table without a win. For example, when negotiating a price you can have volume options, delivery alternatives, after-sales services etc that can be tied to the pricing and that makes the other party see more value added. Alternatives provide room for comparison and enables winning strategies in negotiation.

Winning a negotiation, whether business or not, also requires good timing and patience. Urgency sometimes is interpreted as desperation and you need to exercise wisdom if you must win a negotiation. Many times also when you are in a hurry you tend to be compromised and this may make it difficult to achieve your negotiation objectives, hence a no-win situation.

When negotiating with people from different cultural backgrounds you have to consider applicable cultural norms. While in some cultures you can negotiate over long hours, even over lunch, in others this is not appropriate. While in some cultures starting a negotiation with substantial overstatement hence leaving a large room for negotiation is considered normal, in other cultures it is seen as an attempt to cheat. Since your objective is to win you must be careful about this aspect.

Additionally you should be clear about what you are negotiating for since this increases your chances of winning. While considering this ensure that you leave room for future negotiations. You may need to consider both the short-term and long-term effect of your agreements, for you to a win-win situation. Sometimes what you consider as a losing situation in the short run may turn out to a winning situation in the long run.

Communicate well while negotiating. Understand and make the best use of body language. Negotiate with the right people. Use the right approaches for the right situations. Understand that many possibilities exist in your negotiation. Being an entrepreneur you need to be smart and know how to get the things you need through the art of negotiation. You can indeed negotiate your way into success if you learn and deploy the right skills and approaches. Be a winning negotiator.

Till then,

Clayton Mwaka