3 Steps To Becoming A Great Virtual Negotiator

After the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, traditional boardroom meetings got turned into virtual meetings. 

Now, a person may be an excellent negotiator in a boardroom setup, but the case may be different for virtual meetings. 

Here are some tips for getting started.

1. Understand emotions

If you can read facial expressions and figure out how your counterpart feels, you can easily gain the upper hand in any negotiation. 

In boardrooms, it's easy to see the person's body language in front of you, but you can only see a person's face in virtual meetings. 

2. Respect personal space and beliefs

While conversing from the comfort of their respective homes, both parties have a different environment around them. 

You need to respect the environment and make sure that the other person is speaking at a comfortable time. You would not want to conduct a meeting during inconvenient hours.

The kind of environment one sits in has an impact on their mind. Your counterpart might not be in as good a space as you are and, negotiating at that time would not be logical.

3. Have clarity of agenda

All points mentioned above are vital for a successful negotiation. 

But none of it makes any sense if you lose your agenda in the mix of respecting spaces and understanding emotions. 

When the purpose of the meeting is clear, negotiations can be easily carried out.

Final Thoughts

Virtual negotiations are different from boardroom discussions. 

The skill of reading facial expressions, respecting personal spaces, and building relationships can all lead to a profitable business deal but one must always remember the agenda behind the meeting. Businesses must not blend their agenda with emotions and relations.  

If you feel uncomfortable negotiating virtually, there are companies like Karrass that can train you to be among the best virtual negotiators.