Journal 11

What attributes would you say describe and define your own negotiation styles? Where did you learn to negotiate? Do you think you are any good at it?

Oh my, I don't really know what my negotiation style is. In real life I would like to think I can work collaboratively and negotiate cooperatively. But I'm worried that sometimes I negotiate competitively. Especially with my parents... Which I suppose is where I learned to negotiate. When I wanted to go out with friends and my parents wanted me to stay in. We would, I suppose you could call it "negotiating", but it was more of an argument. But in someways I learned how to manipulate the argument and let them have my way, as Sebinus would say. Of course I didn't always get my way, but I think parental arguments were my first shot at being a negotiator.

Oh my. I would say... I'm probably not very good at negotiating. I have a hard time taking myself out of the situation, which is key. You need to understand the problem objectively, and when things directly affect me, I have a hard time seeing other sides. When problems do not directly involve me, I LOVE seeing all sides. When reading books in my Ideas and Power class I always want to see the other side, the murder's side, the rapist's side, I love seeing things from other points of view... except when it's directly effecting me. I suppose that's something I should work on eh? Good thing I'm taking this class!