Negotiation Training at the Master's Level

Learning how to effectively state your case, negotiate your way through deals and manage conflict and disagreements is perhaps one of the most valuable tools that anyone can have in their professional toolbox. Being a negotiator is both an art and a science, but with programs that include negotiation training, mediation skills as well as strategies for effective communication and conflict resolution you will gain insight into how to be more effective. This type of training, especially at the Master's level, will prepare you for any type of career from management through to public service and everything in between.

One of the key elements in any negotiation or mediation training includes learning different styles of communication and conflict resolution. This means honestly looking at how a person responds to conflict or disagreement themselves, and how they then form opinions, beliefs and ways to deal with the other person or people in the situation. By understanding how the individual responds to conflict it is possible to teach more effective responses on how to stay calm, centered and focused on the issues at hand.

Negotiation training also goes into the art of the deal; how to break down a conflict or issue into its basic components and solve each one separately, rather than trying to tackle the whole problem at once. This method, known as interest based negotiation, also looks at the common areas of agreement and how to systematically build on those to create a better sense of resolution and progress through the negotiation. How to correctly structure the negotiation, how to work with different personality and conflict resolution types as well as how to develop a strong negotiation team are all included as part of the training.

Mediation is the next logical component of conflict resolution and negotiation training programs at advanced levels. Mediation involves a neutral third party, a mediator, who assists the parties in conflict with communication, exploration of options for resolution and reality checking their final decision as to how to proceed. Effective mediators use many of the same techniques as the best negotiators but they do also need to learn to remain neutral in their expressions, comments and even in body language. Training to become a mediator and a negotiator will focus in on the micro skills while providing a theoretical approach to these challenging types of business and personal interactions.

Completing negotiation training or mediation training online is one option for professionals that are already working in the area of conflict resolution or those that want to move into the career. Typically these online Master level programs allow students to specialize or concentrate the focus of this advanced degree within a specific industry. For example, you may choose a focus of organizational negotiation for working with business or government or a degree in health care dispute resolution. Education focus is the theme for the collaborative practice and conflict resolution concentration and there is also the option to zero in on international negotiations, perfect for those employed in multinational companies or working for the government or private sector.

Since negotiation training and conflict resolution does require face to face work, the best degree programs offer a blended type of training. While the vast majority of the coursework is completed online, students will meet in person to complete a practicum type of training that enhances the online learning. These workshops or residencies are very valuable training opportunities allowing role play, simulations and direct feedback from teaching staff with real world conflict resolution experience.