Top 8 Courses on Negotiation by Top Universities

Negotiation is a process of interaction between two or more parties with the aim of reaching an agreement. It is a key component of peace and conflict resolution, as it can help to prevent or resolve disputes. There are many different types of negotiation, but all share some basic features. First, negotiation requires communication between the parties involved. Second, the parties must have some common ground or interests that they can negotiate over. Third, the parties must be willing to compromise and make concessions in order to reach an agreement. Below we have compiled a list of courses to hone your negotiation skills.

Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills (University of Michigan)

Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills is a free online communication skills course offered by the University of Michigan in the United States. The purpose of the course is to teach students the four basic steps that are required to successfully negotiate in their personal and professional lives: Prepare: Plan Your Negotiation Strategy; Negotiate: Use Key Tactics for Success; Close: Create a Contract; and Perform and Evaluate: The End Game. The class begins with a series of short videos that range from 5 to 20 minutes. Then, students are given the chance to practice a negotiation and work through the steps with a friend or family members. At the end of the course, students take a final exam. The class lasts for seven weeks and requires a weekly time commitment of two to three hours.

High Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork and Negotiation (Northwestern University)

High Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork and Negotiation is a free management and leadership course offered by Northwestern University in the United States. The class can be taken as a part of the Organizational Leadership Specialization offered by the university or as a standalone course. The class begins once every two weeks, so students have plenty of opportunities to enroll. Lasting for three weeks, the class includes the following modules: Leadership, Teamwork and Negotiation. Each module contains a series of video lectures as well as supplemental readings and assignments. By the end of the course, students will have begun to develop the essential skills needed to negotiate, collaborate with team members in the work place and take on more leadership tasks.

Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator (Yale University)

Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator is a free online course offered by Yale University, a prestigious Ivy League institution in the United States. The class can be beneficial for anyone who wishes to become a stronger negotiator in personal and professional settings. Throughout the class, students will learn how to craft persuasive, sound arguments and how to identify underlying interests in negotiating partners in order to reach agreements. In addition to online video lectures, the class includes exercises that give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned and develop their skills. The class concludes with an examination of negotiating over email and the role of gender differences in negotiations.

The Art of Negotiation (University of California, Irvine)

The Art of Negotiation is a free online communication skills course offered by the University of California, Irvine, in the United States. The class is ideal for anyone who needs to develop their negotiation skills, regardless of their previous educational and professional experience. By the end of the class, students will understand how negotiating differs from selling and how power influences both negotiation strategies and tactics. In addition, the course reviews negotiation statuses that students may want to employ. Students also have the opportunity to self-assess and determine how their values and personal style will affect the negotiating process. Lasting for four weeks, the class includes the following modules: What is Negotiation?; Influencing Factors and Considerations; You and Your Counterparts as Negotiators; and Preparation Planning and Implementation.

Negotiation Fundamentals (ESSEC Business School)

Negotiation Fundamentals is a free online communication skills course offered by ESSEC Business School, an international educational institution based in France, Singapore and Morocco. This course can be taken as a standalone class or as a part of a specialization in effective negotiation. Through the online videos, students will learn approaches that allow for win-win outcomes in negotiations. Salespeople, managers, politicians and everyday individuals who need to negotiate as a part of their personal lives can greatly benefit from the class. The modules included in the course are: Negotiation Strategy, Negotiation Preparation, Value Creation and Value Claiming, and The Negotiation Process. Students are also given a Peer assessment project on Negotiation Preparation & Value Creation to complete with one or two classmates.

International and Cross-Cultural Negotiation

International and Cross-Cultural Negotiation is a free online management and leadership course offered by the ESSEC Business School. Students have the option to take the course on its own or as a part of a specialization in negotiation offered by the school. Through the course, students will learn about how cultural differences impact behavior during negotiations and find out how to strategize effectively by taking these differences into consideration. Specifically, the course examines French, Chinese, North American and Middle Eastern cultures. To illustrate key points, the class uses real work examples from the European Union institutions and the COP 21 climate conference in Paris. The class lasts for four weeks and includes online videos, supplemental exercises and assignments.

Business English: Planning & Negotiating

Business English: Planning & Negotiating is a free online foreign language course offered by the University of Washington in the United States. The class is geared toward non-native English speakers who wish to develop their communication skills, so that they can become more successful negotiators. By the end of the course, students will be able to negotiate in informal and formal settings, to identify and resolve issues that customers may be facing, to compare and assess services and features, to plan an event for business and to write an announcement for an event. The four-week course includes four online video modules: Exchanging Information, Negotiating, Handling Problems, and Planning and Announcing Events. Previous knowledge of basic English grammar is required for success in the course.

Negotiation, Mediation, and Conflict Resolution – Capstone Project

Negotiation, Mediation, and Conflict Resolution – Capstone Project is an online communication skills course offered by ESSEC Business School. Although this class can be taken on its own, students are strongly encouraged to first complete the other three courses in the school’s negotiation specialization Negotiation Fundamentals, Cross-cultural Negotiations, and Mediation & Conflict Resolution. There is a fee to enroll in the class, and students will receive a certificate of completion when they successfully pass the course. During the class, students are given the opportunity to complete an independent project related to negotiating. The project includes three exercises: an analysis of a real world negotiation, a practice negotiation with a peer, and a practice mediation with a peer. Students have four weeks to complete the three exercises.