zizkao.info

Executive Assistant often has to deal with negotiation in their roles. This is because they will encounter business at a high level and often be responsible for negotiating with suppliers, other department and even customers, whilst their managers are absent.

Therefore, a successful Executive Assistant will need to develop some great negotiation skills, if they are going to succeed in their careers. However, approaching the business world for the first time as a negotiator can be intimidating.

How should I prepare myself?

Think about your skills that you have developed in your work experience and in your wider life. Remember when you are dealing with people skills, such as negotiations, you can draw upon your life experiences. Outside of work, where will you have negotiated?

• Buying your house
• Getting your jobs
• Getting holiday approved
• Compromising with your partner, husband or wife.
• Or even negotiating for cooperation with the toughest bargainers of all,
your children.

The above examples are likely to be encountered by the majority of the population, at one point or another. So when you are preparing to negotiate on a business sense, you should think about all of the strengths that you possess in a negotiation. I would do this exercise and right down a list of your natural attributes.

What makes a good negotiator?

There are many attributes to a good negotiator. Here is a list of the skills that one should possess:

• The ability to prepare and research the subject. This is important because you need a sound base of knowledge to argue your points. It will also help you to understand what the best outcome is for yourself and what motivates the other side.

• The ability to prioritise. We rarely get anything that we want in a negotiation, as there has to be an element of compromise on both sides. Therefore, you need to be able to prioritise your requirements that are fundamental to the outcome of the negotiation.

• Listening. You need to understand where the other side is coming from. A failure to appreciate their point of view, may lead to you failing to come to final agreement.

• Open mindedness and adaptability. You often are presented with potential solutions during the discussion.

Therefore, you will need to be able to take on new ideas and outcomes and see if they can work for you. Often a suitable outcome is presented to you, which you had never expected. If you are inflexible, you will miss these opportunities.

Have you considered how colors can improve your negotiations and the impact colors have on your body language? People make snap judgments based on the colors we wear and the colors of the negotiation environment we’re in. Colors influence your everyday activities.

Read this article to gain valuable insight per how you can improve your negotiation and body language efforts.

Color Effect on Body Language:

People that are less reserved and more outgoing tend to wear vibrant colors. It’s like they’re saying, I want to be free. I want to be seen and recognized.

Colors release the vibrancy within them. It makes them feel good. They display their good-naturedness in their attitude (i.e. let everybody be happy – I’m happy) and through the interactions they have with others. They emit the signal, I’m approachable. The brighter the colors the more siren the signal.

Contrast that type of demeanor against someone who wears darker colors. The message emitted is, I’m not so approachable, not in the mindset of engaging in less serious matters. They say through the colors they wear that they have a certain air about themselves. They’re more reserved than those who wear vibrant colors.

From an observer’s perspective, it’s important to understand the signals that colors emit because of the signals the person is sending. Colors give you insight per how to address and engage with that person. Thus, it would not benefit you to be overly gregarious with someone who wore dark clothing in an attempt to befriend them in your first encounter. Instead, you’d best be served by approaching such an individual in a measured and reserved manner. The opposite would be the case of someone wearing more vibrant colors.

Knowing the right approach to adopt, based on the colors someone wears, will add to your bonding efforts.

Color Effect on Negotiations:

Per the above insights pertaining to the colors people wear and the effect such has on the projection of body language signals, you gain instant access to the person’s possible negotiation style and demeanor. I said possible negotiation style because good negotiators know how to ‘dress for the occasion’. They project the image they want you to perceive based on the clothing and colors they’re wearing. This can be an outlier to their real persona and negotiation style. So, you can make an assessment as to the demeanor they possess, but be on the lookout to reevaluate it the moment you sense things are not going according to how you thought they’d go.

One way to detect the effect colors have on someone is to observe to what degree they give a casual glance, versus a snapping of the head to look at your attire. If you’re physically close enough, you can observe the degree their eyes actually dilate. The wider the pupils, the greater the level of excitement. If you notice such occurring, make a mental note to discover more of what the act entailed. You’ll gain clues to how you’re being perceived and thus how the other negotiator might engage you.

The colors you wear in a negotiation, the color of the environment, and the color that those you engage with wear, play a major role in how engaged or disengaged you’ll be with them and them with you. Given the insight that you’ve gained from this article, you’re now better prepared to dress per the image that best suits you. To do so means you’ll win more negotiations and improve other aspects of your life… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

It’s 2 p.m. and your manager walks up to you with that look on his face. He announces that the company president wants you to give a presentation to him concerning the high profile project you have been working on…and he wants the presentation to start in thirty minutes. Now you have a look on your face as if you had just seen a ghost.

No problem. The following are seven secrets to preparing an outstanding presentation when you have less than thirty minutes:

1. You Don’t Need the Perfect Presentation Get started! Don’t freeze expecting perfection. When you think you need to be perfect, this can lead to paralysis. Management realizes, because of the short time period, that you will not be perfect. The key is to work quickly, not frantically.
2. Start With an End in Mind Ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with my presentation?” Do you want to persuade, entertain, or move the audience to action? Once you have these answers, work to develop your presentation to achieve these goals.
3. It’s About the Audience Ask the following questions:
   • “Who is my audience?
   • “What does the audience want?”
   • “What does the audience want to gain from the speech?”
   • “What is the level of expertise of the audience members?”

   Once you have the answers to these questions, you can tailor your speech to meet the audience’s needs.

4. Keep It Simple Don’t be overwhelmed with information overhaul. Keep your presentation clear and concise by focusing on three main points. This will save you time when collecting your backup information.
5. Make an Outline Create an outline of your speech. Depending on your own individual thought process, you may want to mind map, a freestyle way of putting ideas together, or outline. Outline your beginning, body with three points, and ending.
6. Start and End Strong Concentrate on knowing the beginning and ending of your presentation. Feel confident in giving the beginning of your presentation, and you will become more comfortable giving the rest of your speech. End on a strong note because your speech ending will be the last thing your audience will remember about your presentation.
7. Your Presentation Starts in the Mind Find five minutes before your presentation; go to a quiet place, if possible; and meditate. Think about the positive results of your presentation. Visualize your giving an outstanding presentation and how well the audience is receiving your speech. Also find a mirror; hopefully, in a private area; and look into the mirror and say any of the following affirmations:
   • “This presentation is a great opportunity for me.”
   • “Every opportunity to speak is an opportunity for success.”
   • “I am a great speaker.”
   • “The audience will enjoy my presentation.”
   • “I have something of valuable to share with the audience.”
   • “I appreciate this opportunity to make a presentation.”

   Note: Your affirmations become more powerful when you keep them short and keep them in the present state (Future state example: I will become a better speaker.).

Now that you have read these secrets, you have twenty-five minutes left. Remember, the speech will not break your career. However, being able to rise to the occasion and give an outstanding presentation can enhance your career, business, and life opportunities. Apply these seven secrets and you, too, will give an outstanding presentation in less than thirty minutes.