Personal Learning Paper

PLP – 2

Session 5:

This session focussed on Interpersonal negotiations. The reading helped me to understand the things to be kept in mind before entering a negotiation. During the exercise I kept the points in mind and hence our discussion was very smooth. As a result we reached a decision within 5 minutes which proved to be the most effective one. The first thing I did was ask the other person why she wanted the melons. This immediately made the environment friendly as she perceived me to be a genuine person who wanted to find the best solution for both of the parties rather than just for myself. During the negotiation I realized another important point which was not covered in the reading: don’t underestimate the other party. Initially I perceived my rival to be inferior who was focussing on her own needs and hence I dominated most of the discussion. But, in the end it was she who came up with the most important question: “which part of the melon do you want?”

During arguments and negotiations you always tend to perceive your problem to be the more significant one but this is a wrong assumption. Such an assumption could make you seem as an arrogant fool who will not budge. At this point, I can remember many arguments which I could have handled better so that it wouldn’t have left a bitter taste in the opponent’s mouth. One thing to take away from the session would be to keep others’ interests in mind and don’t let your search for a common ground be the goal of the negotiation as there may not be one. Also, you should be assertive but not aggressive as that would only lead to competition rather than collaboration.

Session 6:

The session focussed on Power and Influence, power being not just positional but personal as well. The case and related exercise made one point clear that everyone will defend their ground even if they know that they are the ones at fault. I was a part of Mission control and I knew that we were the ones who were the most at fault....