Big talk on small talk

Here we go again, it’s time for the second blogpost. 

As on the lecture today, I’m going to start with a bit of talk about small talk with you my dear readers. This is a topic that divides people into half between different countries. As mentioned on the lecture people in Finland do not tend to have small talk that much. Personally I haven't got used to small talk but I think that's something I could get used to in case coming in contact with different cultures. Even though small talk is not that common in Finland, if you go to UK for example not talking small talk is regarded as being rude. In my own opinion the importance of small talk arises from this fact. And maybe before you even notice small talk could turn into talk!! 

On todays lecture we spent a lot of time talking about defining what is a negotiation. First of all I must say there’s no simple answer to that question as negotiation happens in so many levels and is sometimes conscious and other times unconscious. (I know right, it’s crazy that we can negotiate without even realizing it). Negotiation is something in which two or more people are involved and in which all the parties try to reach an agreement by using different means. I’s basically back and forth discussion between the members. 

On the lesson we had the simulated negotiation exercise. In my opinion this was an interesting exercise because it was linked to real world and also gave us the power to affect how the course would be carried out. I think the cooperation between the students was a success. I think the argumentation in the exercise went well and the decision making process followed democracy. However, I believe could have personally affected the flow of the conversation more in case it would have been necessary. I was pleased with the solutions however so I did not see this necessary. This exercise is an example of distributive negotiation. Distributive negotiation and integrative negotiations are two different types of negotiation situations. In distributive negotiation there's a fixed amount of something that is to be divided between the negotiators. Thus as someone gains more someone else looses respectively. Or as in this case as percentages to one place are added they are respectively reduced from another place.

At the end of the lesson we also made a salary negotiation practice. I was playing the person receiving a job. I think it was a success though there were challenges associated as well. The challenge came from the different opinions and objectives we had. For next time I think I could find more innovative solutions to make the goals of both parties meet. There was not much flexibility on the salary but the restriction was not applied on other subsidiaries such as holidays or lunch vouchers and I think I could have utilized this opportunity more effectively.This situation is an example of integrative negotiation. This term is used about a situation in which something bigger can be achieved together than both negating on their own. This way the cooperation in the debate process is beneficial for both of them. Usually integrative negotiation happens in a situation where there is a some kind of relationship between the parties.

What stroke me during the lecture was the language of persuasion. I think this is one of the most crucial ways in which one can intend to be an effective negotiator. In addition to being clear and keeping the message real the language of persuation can be useful in order to drive the conversation into the direction that conforms the goals you are supposed to pursue. Different situations require different methods of negotiation and they should be chosen according to the case. Its also good to remember that negotiation is not about pressing your point too hard because in that case there’s a danger that the negotiation might change into a debate. 

That's all for today. Let's keep the negotiation going on the next lesson!