Personal Reflection: Developing Negotiation Skills and Strategies

This reflective assignment examines a student's personal negotiation style, focusing on their behavior, strengths, and weaknesses as a negotiator. The student identifies effective communication, listening skills, problem-solving, and assertiveness as strengths, developed through consultation activities and seminars. Weaknesses include a need for improved patience, flexibility, and listening skills. The reflection explores how these skills have been developed and suggests strategies for improvement, such as embracing a more open-minded and flexible approach. The student acknowledges the importance of these skills for future career opportunities, including roles in HR management, and the potential threats associated with not adapting to different negotiation scenarios. References to relevant literature on reflection are also included.

Running head: REFLECTION
REFLECTION
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Own behaviour as a negotiator...................................................................................................2
Strengths and weaknesses of a negotiator..................................................................................2
The way in which these strengths and weaknesses have been developed.................................3
References..................................................................................................................................5

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Own behaviour as a negotiator
A negotiator is a person who engages in some type of negotiation with other people
and he not only enters into a negotiation but also has the responsibility to look after the entire
negotiation process. Therefore I being a negotiator try to listen to the concerns of all the
parties concerned such that none of them feels discriminated and then take a decision that can
help in settling the dispute between the two parties. Therefore my main aim always remains
to reach an agreement that is acceptable to both the parties. And in cases where I am unable
to reach an agreement then that decision is taken by me which will be considered to be the
most suitable for that situation (Atkins & Murphy, 1993). I also ask a number of question
during the entire negotiation process from both the parties for developing better insights into
the same. I am usually patient and persistent in my work. However sometimes I lose patience
when neither of the party are clear about what they want and then I have to take the help of
others.
Strengths and weaknesses of a negotiator
Some of my main strengths includes - Effective communication both verbal and non-
verbal, Good listening skills, Ability to build relationships, Ability to solve problems and take
quick decision and Assertive approach. I have been able to develop my communication skills
by communicating with many clients and I have also developed my listening skills by taking
part in conferences and sessions where I have to listen to others. Moreover with the help of
my strengths I can become a better negotiator in future by overcoming weaknesses and
strategic alliance. I can also become a good HR manager as HR managers should have good
negotiation skills for becoming successful.

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Some of my major weaknesses include- Listening skills needs to be improved, I need
to become more patient and that I need to be more flexible. I am required to overcome my
weaknesses such that I do not lose my clients. Some of my clients sometimes feel that I am
too rigid and therefore think that I am rude. Therefore I need to be more open towards others.
The way in which these strengths and weaknesses have been developed
I have been able to develop my skills of effective communication because I have
taken part in a lot of consultation activities (Boud, Keogh & Walker, 2013). I have worked as
external consultant in many companies through which i have been able to improve my
communication skills. I have good listening skills as I take part in conferences and seminars
as audience. By doing the same I have been able to develop my listening skills. A negotiator
has very good interpersonal skills. And therefore I always try to develop good relationship
with others and I have been doing this since my childhood as I am an extrovert. Moreover
this quality helps me in advising others. I am quick thinker and therefore I am capable of
taking quick decision. Moreover my previous experience as an external consultant has helped
me in gaining this quality because I had to face many situations where I was made to take
decision within a short period of time.
I usually use an assertive approach in my day to day activities and therefore believe in
speaking my mind out. However, I also lack some of the important negotiation skills such as I
am not very patient and I need to develop that otherwise I ,may take decision in a haste. I
also need to become more flexible that is I should not always use assertive approach because
then people may find me rude. Further I should also learn to have an open mind such that I
can take decision more effectively without judging or reaching any conclusion half way.
Further I need to improve my listening skills such that because a good negotiator believes in

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the rule of “GIVING TO GET”. Therefore I should be able to take as much information from
the two parties as possible before coming to a conclusion or an agreement.
Moreover I also need to overcome my weaknesses such that I can become a better
professional negotiator in future (Velleman, 1990). If I become a good negotiator I will be
able to negotiate the strategic alliance in a better way on behalf of my future organizations.
With the help of my negotiation skills I can also occupy the role of a HR manager because I
will be able to resolve conflicts with the help of my negotiation skills. Therefore I can take
advantage of a number of opportunities if I can improve my negotiations skills. However
there are also certain threats such as if I do not adopt a more flexible approach while
interacting with other I may lose some major customers in the future.

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References
Atkins, S., & Murphy, K. (1993). Reflection: a review of the literature. Journal of advanced
nursing, 18(8), 1188-1192.
Boud, D., Keogh, R., & Walker, D. (2013). Reflection: Turning experience into learning.
Routledge.
Velleman, J. D. (1990). Practical reflection.