Greenhalgh's Stages of Negotiation [PDF]

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Greenhalgh’s Ideal Stages of Negotiation

Stage 1. Preparation

Key Tasks Defining interests, priorities, goals & BATNA; process planning; assessing the other party; assessing the situation; planning proposals & defense; selecting & preparing negotiating team; managing constituents & third parties; planning your approach.

2. Relationship Building

Establishing rapport; getting to know the other party(s) needs/wants & perspective; understanding how the parties differ; building commitment towards a mutually beneficial outcome; discussing protocol & process matters; diffuse any fear or hostility.

3. Information Gathering

Learning about the details of the issues; learning more about the other party(s) needs/wants & perspectives; exploring the feasibility of possible agreements; exploring the consequences of no agreement; identifying areas of agreement (i.e., “common ground”) & disagreement; discussing relevant standards of fairness, evidence, precedent, etc.

4. Information Using

Making the case for your preferred agreement; pre-opening offers; agreeing on joint decision criteria, generating options for possible agreement; re/framing using appropriate persuasion techniques.

5. Bargaining

Making opening offers, counters & concessions; establishing and narrowing the zone of potential agreement; closing; reaching agreement or pursuing BATNA

6. Closing

Building commitment to the agreement reached in the previous stage; parties re/assuring themselves that they have reached a deal they can be happy with (or at least accept).

7. Implementing

Executing the agreement; determining who needs to do what once the agreement is reached; handling flaws, omissions & changing circumstances

Greenhalgh (2001) argues that this is the way people ought to negotiate; it is not a description of how most negotiations actually occur. He also notes that deviations from this process can frequently be predicted by culture norms or customs, individual differences and various contextual factors. Although it implies some problematic assumptions, it is nevertheless a useful framework to think about negotiations and to plan and manage your negotiations. Remember, achieving a good negotiation outcome depends on (1) preparation, (2) an effective, well-managed negotiation process and (3) chance. The latter is random and beyond our control, but the first two can be learned and improved upon with effective training, practice and reflection.