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University of Michigan

Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills

University of Michigan via Coursera

Overview

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We all negotiate on a daily basis. On a personal level, we negotiate with friends, family, landlords, car sellers and employers, among others. Negotiation is also the key to business success. No business can survive without profitable contracts. Within a company, negotiation skills can lead to your career advancement.

I hope that you will join the hundreds of thousands of learners who have made “Successful Negotiation” one of the most popular and highly-rated MOOCs worldwide. In the course, you’ll learn about and practice the four steps to a successful negotiation:

(1) Prepare: Plan Your Negotiation Strategy
(2) Negotiate: Use Key Tactics for Success
(3) Close: Create a Contract
(4) Perform and Evaluate: The End Game

To successfully complete this course and improve your ability to negotiate, you’ll need to do the following:

(1) Watch the short videos (ranging from 5 to 20 minutes). The videos are interactive and they include questions to test your understanding of negotiation strategy and skills. You can speed up or slow down videos to match your preferred pace for listening. Depending on your schedule, you can watch the videos over a few weeks or you can binge watch them. A learner who binge-watched the course concluded that “It’s as good as Breaking Bad.” Another learner compared the course to “House of Cards.” Both shows contain interesting examples of complex negotiations!
(2) Test your negotiation skills by completing the negotiation in Module 6. You can negotiate with a local friend or use Discussions to find a partner from another part of the world. Your negotiation partner will give you feedback on your negotiation skills. To assist you with your negotiations, I have developed several free negotiating planning tools that are related to the course. These tools and a free app are available at http://negotiationplanner.com/ . The course also includes an opportunity to use an interactive experience where you can test your negotiation skills before starting the live negotiation.
(3) Take the final exam. To successfully complete the course, you must answer 80% of the questions correctly. The exam is a Mastery Exam, which means that you can take it as many times as you want until you master the material.

Course Certificate

You have the option of earning a Course Certificate. A Certificate provides formal recognition of your achievements in the course and includes the University of Michigan logo. Learn more about Certificates at: https://learner.coursera.help/hc/en-us/articles/209819053-Get-a-Course-Certificate

This course is also available in Spanish and Portuguese. To join the fully translated Spanish version, visit this page: https://www.coursera.org/learn/negociacion/

To join the fully translated Portuguese version, visit this page: https://www.coursera.org/learn/negociacao

Subtitles for the videos are available in English, Ukrainian, Chinese (Simplified), Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish

Created by: University of Michigan

The course logo composite is shared with a Creative Commons CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/) license, and was created using images provided courtesy of Flazingo Photos (http://bit.ly/1zOylRm) and K2 Space (https://www.flickr.com/photos/k2space/14257556613/in/set-72157644732478432).

Syllabus

  • Welcome to Successful Negotiation!
    • Through this course you'll learn and practice the strategies and skills that will help you become a successful negotiator in your personal life and business transactions. After completing this module, you'll be able to state the four key stages of negotiation and what you need to do successfully complete this course.
  • Prepare: Plan Your Negotiation Strategy
    • This module focuses on the first step in the negotiation process - planning for a negotiation. One critical component you'll learn is how to complete a negotiation analysis to set you up for success.
  • Negotiate: Use Key Tactics for Success
    • This module focuses on two especially important topics: (1) how to use power during negotiations and (2) psychological tools that you can use during negotiations. Keep a paper and pencil handy, as you'll be participating in several experiments as watch these videos!
  • Close: Create a Contract
    • This module focuses on the negotiation that takes place in a business deal after reaching an initial agreement – the negotiation to create a binding contract. Among other things, you'll learn to decide if you need a lawyer or can act as your own for contract creation. However, the videos should not be construed as providing legal advice.
  • Perform and Evaluate: The End Game
    • This module focuses on performing and evaluating your agreement. If both parties perform as expected, there is no problem. But if they fail to perform, the dispute resolution processes that we cover in this module is important - especially mediation and arbitration.
  • Practice Your Negotiation Skills with an Interactive Experience and Live Negotiations
    • This module gives you two chances to practice what you have learned in the course. First, you can practice your negotiation skills during an interactive experience with two investors who are interested in funding your start-up business. Second, you can test your skills in a live real estate negotiation with a friend or with someone from another part of the world who is taking the course.
  • Final Examination
    • Once you have successfully completed the Final Exam, you will have successfully completed the course! The estimated time to complete the examination is 75 minutes. You can retake the examination until you are confident that you understand these concepts.

Taught by

George Siedel

Reviews

4.8 rating, based on 219 Class Central reviews

4.8 rating at Coursera based on 19031 ratings

Start your review of Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills

  • Be it resolving fights within the family to discussing a salary with employers/employees, not many of us realize that we negotiate on a daily basis.

    I am sure I will be applying the ideas and tools discussed during the entire duration of the course in my daily life as well as in my workplace. I am especially grateful for the instructor of the course Mr. George Siedel whose light-hearted yet significant lectures made me feel connected, even though they were in videos.
    Choosing this course was worth it for me and I am looking forward to doing many more courses like this!
  • Anonymous
    The Successful Negotiation course covers all the basic concepts related with deal making as well as dispute resolving negotiations. The course defines basic elements in a negotiation and covers details in a comprehensive way. Video Lectures deliever…
  • Jose Nilo Delgado Junior
    I would like to highlight the comprehensiveness of the subject of the course ( Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills ) as well as Professor George Siedel´s clarity, undoubtful knowledge (as a remind at this moment his worldwide kn…
  • Anonymous
    I have always wondered whether it is right or wrong to always negotiate in a transaction, some times i did negotiate and other times i didn't, not until i found this online course and started learning. Right now i have enjoyed all the classes becaus…
  • Anonymous
    "Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills" is a highly acclaimed online course offered by the University of Michigan through Coursera. This course is designed to help learners develop effective negotiation skills and strategies for a…
  • Anonymous
    It's a good course covering the basics including rule #1 which is "nobody ever demands enough at the outset." The second really important point is the fact that you and your opponent may not covet the same prize, may not have the same target or goa…
  • Anonymous
    Successful negotiations and essential strategies are all important elements when negotiating a business. However, to function efficiently requires building relationships with your clients. Henceforth, which will result in having a focus plan for the…
  • Ireen Roseana Thomas
    Successful negotiations and essential strategies are all important elements when negotiating a business. However, to function efficiently requires building relationships with your clients. Henceforth, which will result in having a focus plan for the…
  • Anonymous
    Professor Siedel's delivery of the key elements for successful negotiating is succinct, well organized and illustrated, and highly digestible. Techniques can not only be used in the most sophisticated business negotiation, but also in the negotiations of daily life. He provides a toolbox with practical, hands-on materials to plan and prepare for negotiations. The opportunity to participate in a world-wide group of learners is an unexpected bonus. The course far exceeded my expectations and provided me with tools I will use often.

    This course is a must for all managers and entrepreneurs, business school students, parents and teachers of all levels.
  • Anonymous
    Along with very interesting videos and case studies, this course has provided to me essential tools to measure and evaluate my negotiation style. Therefore, every circumstance in my personal and professional life has started to work as a negotiation, even if this is related to a personal achievement.
    And, in my opinion, the most interesting module of this course is when you negotiate with a peer student. Having the possibility to receive and give a feedback on a negotiation, without the pressure of a work environment, it’s not only a privilege but also a gigantic step in your learning.
    I am very grateful for all this learning experience.
  • Anonymous
    1. I would like to begin that it was one of the best MOOCS I took in all times.There are various factors which make an online course stand out and this one scores perfectly on all levels.

    2. Relevance. This subject matter is extremely relevant and critical for survival in any career or even personal life.

    3. Content/material. Various branches of knowledge essential for assimilation are included, in just appropriate quantity .background knowledge of Legal issues was excellent.

    4. Delivery. Delivery and pace was perfect for me. It's not too hectic.

    5. Check on assessment is intuitive and interesting.

    Overall a wonderful experience

  • Anonymous
    I just gave 5 stars to "Successful negotiations" essential skills course taught by Professor Siedel. He is a master of ADR and especially of mediation. He has the power of convincing and the ability to clarify the concepts and to be persuasive. I took the course roughly three years ago and I still can remember the essential skills. If one day I will make a shift in my career towards ADR, for certain I will review the course materials. These materials give necessary information and are in plain English in other words this course is doable even for people who have not legal background. I would suggest this course to everyone.
  • Anonymous
    This course is very interesting, very informative, and very educational. I recommend to everyone who has an interest to learn more about negotiation, communication, and planning. I have learned different strategies to help me understanding of how to become a successful negotiator whether in professional or personal world. In addition, I have discovered very interesting concepts of how to tackle the cross-cultural negotiation and communication as along with different ethical issues and standards as well!
    Professor George Siedel did such a fantastic job to explain BATNA strategy in such a simple way to comprehend its.
  • Anonymous
    I liked this course very much. It was my first fully online course, but the fact that the professor was on the video, sitting down and speaking, didn't feel like online. Professor often switched from his own view, to presentation view, he asked ques…
  • Anonymous
    The course is vital for most people because we encounter situations that needs negotiation skills, at work and families we go through negotiations that require skill that enables to opt for better alternative, It equip learners with the valuable skill that benefit whenever we sell or buy products, Since pursuing this course i now see myself a better negotiator than before because i know what to prepare and expect out of a negotiation
  • Anonymous
    Bueno primero que nada agradezco a ustedes por pedir mí opinión al igual como me permitieron hacer este curso ....Debo decir que entre los cursos que he echo online este fue muy interesante sobre todo para ayudarnos a entender que si en la vida todo…
  • Anonymous
    The course has widened my horizon and deepened my understanding of negotiation skills.This is an invaluable course which I highly recommend to those dealing with conflict management issues.

  • Anonymous
    A great overview of the negotiation strategies. However, the course does not spend enough time on actually practicing the skills.
  • Anonymous
    This is a great and rewarding course for every walks of life for several reasons:
    Firstly, it is an effective skill that all us need to inorder to solve our day to problems.
    Secondly, it teaches us how to negotiate with our daily components.
    Thirdly, it equips us how to win our partners hearts and minds through give and take techniques.
    Fourthly, it prepares us to close up our business deals in an competitive market.
    Finally, the whole life needs the negotiation skills to be meaningful.
    Therfore, I recommend to everyone to join this amazing course and benefit from it.
    Abdillahi
  • Anonymous
    I am only half-way through the course and I am already awfully impressed. George Siedel has put it together very well. It is sufficiently interactive, concepts are explained in simple terms , a twinge of humor , clever anecdotes, examples from pers…

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