JCI Swindon is going from strength to strength and has a great buzz on all social media about their range events.  Thanks to Ed Harris a potential JCI Swindon member we can hear more about their lastest event.

Negotiation Skills Workshop - 05/03/2015 (by Ed Harris, Financial Controller at Business West, Swindon)
On Thursday the 5^th of March a negotiation skills workshop was held by the Swindon Junior Chamber.  The aim was to illustrate the importance of negotiation skills, and provide an opportunity to develop these skills.

The workshop was broken down in to three distinct parts; a talk from Bob Gaught about the importance of relationship building & negotiation skills, an introduction from Faisal about negotiation techniques and then role play by the workshop's attendees.

Jurys Inn in Swindon where the event took place

Bob's Talk
Bob Gaught gave a brief talk about his career in sales in the printing industry, and the importance of good negotiation skills.  Bob mentioned the need to create, and maintain, good relationships and how this often formed the basis of success in business.

The emphasis on relationship building meant that as opposed to having a transactional approach to sales the chances if repeat sales were much higher.  This in turn could form the basis of sustainable business success.

Bob presenting at the event

Faisal's Introduction
Faisal gave a brief introduction on negotiation techniques explaining what should be said and how it should be said.  In brief the need for an introduction, making the offer and closing the deal.

The point being that how things were said (tone of voice, body language etc) was often as important, if not more important, than what was actually said.  So the emphasis being upon how the message is delivered.

Role Play
The role play sessions looked at three different scenarios; hiring painters & decorators to redecorate an office, buying a car and a job interview.

In addition to being provided with the general scenario the participants were given parameters within which to work.  The objective being for each participant to maximise their respective outcomes and stay within their parameters.

Some of the role playing scenarios

Conclusion
Bob's talk was very interesting as he was able to provide several real world examples as well the background to put it in context.  In particular his point that people should avoid relying on technology too heavily and that electronic communication should not entirely replace face to communication.

The role play sessions (and Faisal's introduction) were also very useful as it enable the participants to practice the skills discussed.  This helped further by the feedback provided by the other attendees as it gave the role play participants a fresh perspective.

One possible change would have been to have time to do more role play examples, but though it was still a very informative session.

If you would like to know more about JCI Swindon and their upcoming events you can email Faisal Mooraby: faisal.mooraby@jciswindon.org.uk