I was lucky to get to go to an advanced negotiations seminar last week to learn the latest negotiating techniques (thank you to the State Bar of Texas for holding this on a beautiful cruise ship in the Caribbean!). I don’t mention where I travel to or what I’ve studied to keep up with my legal education, but the instructor, Nina Meierding, an attorney/mediator who lives near Seattle, was so outstanding that I wanted to thank her here.
The opportunity to hone my negotiating skills in such a great setting was superb. Topics we studied/practiced included:
•The predictability of the distributive style of negotiation
•The strategy of setting opening offers
•Dealing with tactics
•Negotiating with highly competitive people
•Collaborative and integrative negotiation skills
•Communication skills
•Working with highly emotional issues
•Mediating and negotiating in high conflict situations
•Identifying sources of resistance to an agreement
•Creative problem solving strategies
•Enhancing durability of agreements
I was able to employ a sophisticated technique I learned this morning as I argued with an attorney in Dallas and made significant progress on a tough issue.