Diplomacy strategies you can use for negotiations

1. Diplomacy Strategies You
Can Use For Negotiations
Oyewole O. Sarumi | PhD, FIPDM|

2. Introduction
• Have you ever imagined yourself as a high-powered diplomat?
The word diplomacy invokes images of international intrigue,
power and strategy.
After all, diplomats tackle the World's big problems — trade, war,
economics, culture, environment and human rights. It often feels
that diplomats make little progress but the World would surely be
a mess without diplomacy.

3. • If you think your problems with office politics, sales or salary
negotiations are difficult — imagine the challenge of influencing
nations to clean up their environmental practices or of preventing
a war between bitter rivals.
Diplomatic techniques and strategy can be applied to
everyday business negotiations.
Why not use diplomacy in your work? These time-honored
diplomatic strategies are easy enough to apply to business
situations.

4. 1. Use An Advocate (Shuttle Diplomacy)
• Use a semi-independent advocate
to influence the other side in
negotiations.
• For example, employers often use
agents to state their case in salary
negotiations.

5. 2. Superrationality
• Superrationality is an advanced diplomatic
technique that solves strategic dilemmas
such as the Mexican Standoff. It's
considered an alternative to game theory.
Game theory assumes that players in a
game act in their own self interest. In some
situations (such as the Mexican Standoff),
when players act in their own self interest
— they lose.
Superrationality is a diplomatic model that
suggests negotiators can get beyond their
self interests to seek an optimal solution for
everyone.

6. 3. Use of Objective Criteria
• Frame your positions with
objective criteria (facts).
Example, "this discount is
rather large, the average
discount we offer is only
22.3%".

7. 4. Tit for Tat
• Tit for Tat is a process of equivalent
retaliation. It's a common strategy in
international diplomacy that involves
three steps:
Always cooperate, until provoked.
• If provoked, always retaliate with equal
force.
• Be quick to forgive.
•
The strategy is intended to maximize the
chances for a peaceful resolution of
conflict.

8. 5. Buy Time
• If the other side is making large gains
in negotiations, it's often a good idea
to find an excuse to delay.
Delay tactics are easy to implement.
For example, flood the other side
with irrelevant information (known as
a snow job).
Use the delay to regroup, identify
lessons learned and refocus your
strategy.

9. 6. Ignore Imposed Constraints
• It may be in your best
interests to ignore deadlines
and other constraints
imposed by the other side.
It's important not to let the
other side box you in.

10. 7. Name the Trick
• If the other side uses a
deceptive tactic such as a red
herring or straw man — name
their trick (e.g. "This is a
delay tactic isn't it?").

11. 8. Call Bluffs
• If you think the other side is
bluffing — call them on it. Ask
them to show their cards.
• For example, in salary
negotiations a candidate may
claim to have other offers, ask to
see the offers in writing (although
non-disclosure agreements may
already be in place).

12. 9. Build Golden Bridges
• Give the other side options
that allow them to come
away from negotiations with
some wins.

13. 10. Avoid Escalations
• When negotiations become
heated take a break or use
humor to defuse the
situation.

14. 11. Anchoring
• Negotiators have a tendency to
use the first information they
hear as an anchor (important
information they keep coming
back to).
In sales, be the first to mention a
price. The other side may
continue to use your first price as
an anchor.

15. 12. Make Your Ideas Seem Like Their Ideas
• A highly skilled diplomat
is able to lead the other
side to desired
conclusions.
• With a soft touch, the
other side may accept
your ideas are their
own.

16. A leader is best when people barely know he
exists, when his work is done, his aim
fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
~ Lao Tzu

17. 13. Never Allow Your Opponent to Lose Face
• Never personally
attack your opponent
or make them look
bad.
• If they make
themselves look bad,
help them to recover.

18. 14. Code Words & Politeness
• In diplomacy, code words are
used to keep criticism polite (on
the surface). Diplomats don't
argue, they have "frank
discussions". They avoid words
that can be used against them
and shade their harsh words.
• This technique is often used in
business. You don't say that a
consultant is incompetent, you
say they "lack the requisite
capabilities".

19. 15. Set Up Your Opponent's Victory Speech
• The other side wants to be
able to tell their boss that
they were victorious in
negotiations.
• Strategies such as door-in-
the-face help the other side
to walk away with a
perceived victory.

20. References Consulted
• Anna Mar. 15 Diplomacy Strategies For Negotiations. Culled from
http://training.simplicable.com/training/new/ on Nov. 19, 2015