Developing trust in negotiations
Featured in the Negotiation Skills training manual
By Dave Clarke & David Simmonds& Ian Steers
Category: Communication Skills
Credit price: 2 download credits (Single user)
Any negotiating process needs to include consideration of the future, an expectation of honesty and the acceptance that a bargain is a bargain. Each of these aspects relies on trust. Effective negotiators recognise that all negotiations must operate within the context of a long-term relationship. A short-term gain for the sake of expedience or ego is never worth the long-term damage to the negotiator’s reputation and relationships. This training activity uses a negotiating game to demonstrate that it pays to be trustworthy and that a win-win outcome is preferable to a win-lose one. Note: The game used is a popular training activity known as ‘red and blue’ ‘prisoners’ dilemma’ or ‘principles’. You may need to check with participants whether they have encountered it before.
Two teams are formed, red and blue. The teams are seated apart from each other so that they cannot communicate in any way except when asked to by the trainer. Each team makes a series of 10 decisions and records them on a tally sheet. In seven of the rounds, both teams make their decisions without conferring with the other team. In the other three rounds, the two teams are allowed to negotiate a decision via a representative from each team. After each round, the trainer collects each team’s decisions and then informs the teams of their collective decision. There are different pay-off points depending on the results of the collective decisions. After the game, the trainer leads a discussion on the learning outcomes and their applications for good negotiating practice.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to explore the concepts and effects of trust and betrayal.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 6 |
| Max Group Size: | 16 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:30:00 |
| No of Pages: | 7 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with experienced negotiators or during the middle of a programme. It is also useful after role plays where, for example, participants ‘accidentally’ forget negotiated agreements or carelessly break bargains. The suitable number of participants for this training activity is no fewer than six and no more than 16. It is possible to use the training activity where you have an odd number of participants. Where there are more than 16 participants, you will need to run two separate activities.
Download the training activity, Developing trust in negotiations as featured in the Fenman training manual; Negotiation Skills