It’s interesting to realize just how important the skill of negotiating is to CIOs. Sure, we all know about the importance of information technology, but when you think about it, we spend a great deal of our time negotiating no matter if it is with vendors, other departments, or even members of our IT team. Since we do so much of this, we should always be looking for ways to get better at it…

3 Ways To Become A Better Negotiators

First off, when we dive into a negotiation be it with a vendor or with someone who works for our firm, all too often we just start things off with a vague idea about what we’d like to accomplish. We know that we need to create a deal, but we’re not 100% what that deal is going to look like. However, we believe that we’ll recognize it when we see it.

What this mean to you as the person with the CIO job is that before your next negotiation starts, you really need to do some homework. By taking the time to prepare for a negotiation, you’ll have an advantage over the person that you’ll be negotiating with. Doing your homework can be as simple as coming up with a plan for what you want to propose to the other side. When you do this, the next step is for you to highlight the key details in your plan that you want to make sure that are part of the deal that you reach.

When we are negotiating with someone, all too often it can be easy to assume that they have more power than they really do. They may represent a big company or a powerful internal department. We need to take a step back and realize that they are just a peer – no more, and no less. If you can see them as someone just like you, it can remove a great deal of the intimidation that they may be presenting to you and you can focus on getting what you want from them.

Finally, don’t worry if what you are asking for has never been done before. Hey, there always has to be a first time, right? Make your case and explain to the other side how things will work. If they still seem nervous about agreeing to a deal, you can create checkpoints that will allow them to determine if the deal is being implemented in the way that they agreed to.

What All Of This Means For You

At the heart of what it means to be in the CIO position is the ability to communicate well. One form of communication that we all need to take the time to master is that of negotiation. Since we negotiate so often and with so many different types of people we need to get better at doing this.

There are three ways that we can become better negotiators. The first is to make sure that we always show up prepared to negotiate – we need to do our homework. Make sure that you see the person that you’ll be negotiating with as a peer – they do not have any special powers. Finally, just because something has never been done before does not mean that it can’t be done now.

As a CIO, you never seem to have enough time to get everything done. When you are trying to decide where to spend your time, learning to become a better negotiator is one thing that will be on your plate. Among all of the other things that you have to do, this is a good way to spend your time. Time spent becoming a better negotiator is time well invested.

If you’re ready to kick your career or business up to the next level, then make it a goal to become a powerful presenter. People view savvy communicators as being more capable, intelligent, and knowledgeable than those individuals who have difficulty in communicating their ideas. You can quickly gain the status of an expert in your field when you are able to present your ideas effectively.

Although many things go into giving a successful talk, I’d like to focus on one area that is very easy to apply – using body movements and gestures. When you use body movements and gestures appropriately, your presentation takes on a certain sense of aliveness that is often hard to accomplish when you use words alone.

Harness the Power of Gestures

Gestures include your posture, the movement of your eyes, hands, face, arms and head, as well as your entire body. They help to support or reinforce a particular thought or emotion. If our gestures support our statements, we are communicating with a second sense. People tend to understand and remember messages better when more than one sense is reached.

Winston Churchill was a master at using gestures to powerfully bring home his point. During World War II, Churchill rallied the citizens of Great Britain to continue their fight against overwhelming odds. He often visited the neighborhoods of London, which had been devastated by bombs and walked through them with his fingers held up in the sign of a “V”. This victory sign accompanied his famous message, “Never give in. Never, never, never give in.” This gesture so powerfully communicated Churchill’s message that soon people gained greater resolve to continue fighting whenever they saw the victory sign.

Another reason that using appropriate gestures is so critical to your presentation is that communication does not just consist of words. Less than 10% of the words we use in speaking gets through to others. On the other hand, over 55% of our body language is communicated to others very clearly. Whether you are trying to sell your product or service to a client or you are trying to persuade a group of people to change their behavior, it is critical that your words and gestures match. Many people have sabotaged their messages because their words were saying one thing, while their bodies were saying the exact opposite.

Can you think of a time when someone told you that he would be able to do something while his head was shaking no? Which did you believe, the words or the gesture? When your body movements are congruent with your words, your message will have a very powerful impact on your audience.

Make the Most Out of Movements

People will begin to make judgments about you as soon as you stand up. The time to begin using effective body movements is when you walk to your position in front of a group. Stand up tall and walk with a strong posture. Let your body communicate that you have something important to say and the audience needs to hear it. If your posture is slouched, they will feel that you aren’t convinced about your message and they will begin doubting you before you have uttered a single word.

When you get to the front, take a deep breath, calmly look at your entire audience and smile. One of the biggest mistakes presenters make is to begin talking as soon as they get up to the front, or even worse, as they are walking there. When you take time to look at your audience before you speak, you begin to establish that critical connection with them. You also give the audience sufficient time to focus on you and what you are about to say.

Look directly at the faces of your audience members, not over their heads. Eye contact is one of the most important aspects of speaking. An easy way to get over stage fright is to look at the faces of individual audience members and just talk to that one person instead of the entire audience. Rotate the people you talk to – someone on the left, someone towards the middle, a person on the right, someone in the front, etc. This will help you maintain rapport with the entire group, while allowing you to feel at ease.

A further advantage of maintaining good eye contact is that it will help you gauge how your message is coming across to the group. If you are trying to explain something and members of the audience give you blank stares, then you need to adjust your words so they can better understand you.

Use Conversational Gestures

Like Winston Churchill, you should strive to incorporate gestures into your talk. People naturally use gestures in conversations. They are not on the spot, so they easily move their arms and hands and make facial expressions to illustrate the points they are trying to make. However, an amazing thing happens when people stand up in front of a group to speak. They suddenly think, “Oh no! What am I going to do with these things attached to my shoulders?” and they either don’t move them at all or they move them awkwardly. Gestures should be a natural extension of who we are. Presenters should strive to be themselves. They should be as spontaneous with their movements as if they were talking to their family or friends.

Practice Makes Natural

A good way to be comfortable with gestures is to know your speech well. Several of the most outstanding speakers offer the same piece of advice: “The key to effectively using gestures is to know your material so well, to be so well prepared, that your gestures will flow naturally.” Practice your speech and know it well so that you can enjoy sharing your message with others.

Become a master at using your body to support your words. Have fun with gestures, be yourself, and you will certainly present your message with power and pizzazz.

In past negotiation lessons, I’ve highlighted strategies and tactics that you can use when negotiating. I’ve discussed the value of being able to read and interpret body language (nonverbal signals). I’ve elaborated on the virtues of being mindfully astute when it comes to deciphering nuances that occur when negotiating. The one thing I haven’t touched on in any great length, in any lessons, is the value ‘hope’ plays when negotiating.

I don’t wish to sound whimsical nor capricious, but there’s something to be said about faith, belief, and ‘hope’, when you negotiate. Of course, you still have to prepare for any negotiation by doing your due diligence when it comes to gathering background information on the other negotiator, creating a plan for the negotiation (your road map), and determining what you’ll do if the negotiation doesn’t go the way you want. Nevertheless, you can add an additional dimension to the negotiation by having faith in your abilities and giving consideration to the role ‘hope’ will play.

Let me state, I’m not a huge fan of the law of attraction, but there are ‘things’ that occur in the universe that none of us are truly aware. That being the case, might ‘hope’ really be a viable resource that you can use to enhance a negotiation? There will be setbacks and heartbreaks when you negotiate. Things won’t always go the way you planned, but if you can keep yourself from feeling beaten, downtrodden, and discouraged, you’ll keep ‘hope’ alive.

Have you ever thought that something you wanted very badly would never come to pass? Then, when it didn’t, your first thought was, I knew it wouldn’t happen. Think for a moment. In the instant you thought about a negative experience, it occurred. Maybe part of its occurrence came to fruition,partly due to the thought process you manifested. I’m not suggesting you can will something into existence nor will it away, but if you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right! The direction in which you think, will be the direction in which you’ll move.

When you negotiate, instead of being pessimistic, try to be optimistic. Allow ‘hope’ to replace doubt. Allow ‘hope’ to replace fear. Let not your imagination be your downfall, due to your lack of belief, faith, or conviction that you have about your negotiation position and the outcome you seek.

The next time you’re in a tough negotiation situation and you’re not sure if you’ll be able to acquire the outcome for which you search, close your eyes, while at the negotiation table, and quietly start thinking or chanting out loud, ‘I have ‘hope!’ By doing so, you will enhance the chance that the negotiation will turn out to be more positive for all involved. This may not work, but if your chant is heard by the other negotiator, believe me, it will get his attention. Upon seeing and hearing you, he may give consideration to helping you achieve what you need and want from the negotiation.

Even if using ‘hope’ in your negotiation doesn’t bear fruit, it won’t leave you bare. You will have discovered another tool that will cause pause in a negotiation. During that pause, the negotiation can be reshaped, revamped, and redirected. Done right, with the proper timing, you’ll throw the other negotiator off his game. At that time you’ll have a momentary advantage. Use ‘hope’ wisely and you just might shift the power of the negotiation to your advantage; after all, who knows? With ‘hope’ the unimaginable may become reality … and everything will be right with the world.

The Negotiation Lessons are …

· When you’re handed a plate that’s broken into a million pieces and all you have is a single rubber band to put it back together, what else can you do except ‘hope’. When negotiating, don’t discount the value of ‘hope’.

· While negotiating, pay close attention to the dynamics that are occurring. If the other negotiator is faith based, or one that can be easily mollified, you can use flowery language such as, ‘I ‘hope’ we can achieve the outcome we’re seeking.’ This type of negotiator will be more impressed by such language and easier to assuage.

· It’s been said that “Chance favors the prepared mind.” When your negotiation plans fail to bring forth the outcome you seek, or it’s not going in the direction in which you’d like, use ‘hope’ and always try to keep ‘hope’ alive.