Negotiation for Professionals: Powerful Methods to Boost Your Success

July 10–12, 2024  •  Chicago campus 


Learn innovative tools to overcome everyday conflicts

You are negotiating all the time with colleagues, clients, suppliers, family, and friends, but most negotiations don’t go as well as they could. Daniel L. Shapiro, PhD, world-renowned expert on the psychology of conflict resolution has developed and adopted negotiation frameworks that can help you improve client relationships, close important deals, and resolve heated disputes. These frameworks have helped business executives, lawyers, healthcare workers, and countless others get to yes — and these same tools have helped leaders of war-torn countries find agreement. Imagine your competitive advantage and power if you, too, were equipped with these tools.

  REGISTER HERE

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Who should attend?

No matter your profession, you undoubtedly negotiate all the time. This program is therefore suited for negotiation experts and novices, including but in no way limited to:

  • Executive management
  • Lawyers
  • Purchasing and procurement managers
  • Psychotherapists and counselors
  • Teachers
  • Project managers
  • Human resources professionals
  • Sales and marketing professionals
  • Not-for-profit professionals
  • Insurance professionals
  • Mediators
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What to Expect

This three-day seminar seeks to enable participants to understand and deal more wisely with conflict and other complex interpersonal situations. It introduces the basics of negotiation theory and skills and explains the mental and emotional factors that can interfere with a person's ability to use them appropriately. It then presents certain concepts and practices from mindfulness and psychology (especially an approach to psychology known as Internal Family Systems) that can help people overcome these obstacles and, as a result, negotiate and otherwise deal more effectively with conflict and difficult situations—both inside themselves and between themselves and others.

Upon completion, participants will also receive a Certificate of Completion from Northwestern University.

Enrollment may also be used to satisfy 15.75 of the State of Illinois CLE requirement, including 2 hours of the Professional Responsibility requirement.

World-renowned instructor

Taught by Daniel L. Shapiro, PhD of the Harvard Negotiation Project, and featuring K.M. Zouhary, attorney and improv specialist, this certificate program incorporates the most advanced thinking on the topic of negotiation.

State-of-the-art ideas

Even people who have mastered traditional negotiation tools fail to use them appropriately in in high-stress negotiations. You will learn how to better manage yourself; how to keep your anxiety in check and stay focused and mindful; and how to face complex negotiations with clarity. 

Interactive Learning 

You will engage in a variety of hands-on exercises to try out the tools of negotiation. You also will learn methods to better manage yourself and others through mindful awareness and a system for working through internal conflict. We’ll walk you through ways to integrate these skills into your actual negotiations so you can benefit from the tools right away. Past participants have applied these tools and extracted surprising amounts of value out of their negotiations. 

Dan Shapiro

In my years of experience consulting for businesses, governments, and families in crisis, I’ve been struck by how much value is left untapped, how many conflicts escalate unnecessarily, and how many opportunities slip away. In this unique course, you’ll gain access to cutting-edge frameworks and tools that will enhance your ability to negotiate more effectively, build stronger relationships, and accomplish more. I warmly invite you to join this vibrant program and discover the full potential of your negotiation power!”

Daniel Shapiro, PhD, Instructor, Northwestern Negotiation for Professionals Certificate Program; Founding Director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program

Program Content

NEGOTIATION BASICS

  • Revisiting established theory and practices of negotiation
  • Putting negotiation into context: overview of dispute resolution processes
  • Negotiating substantive and procedural issues

A ROADMAP FOR UNDERSTANDING, CONDUCTING AND EVALUATING A NEGOTIATION

  • Applying the critical elements of negotiation
  • Understanding adversarial vs. interest-based negotiation tactics and strategies
  • Identifying the five core concerns when dealing with emotions

MINDFUL AWARENESS IN NEGOTIATIONS

  • Choosing wisely: utilizing the tools of awareness
  • Avoiding pitfalls by transforming hostile emotions
  • Applying the tools: what to notice and what to do

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

  • Hands on, role play, applying theories
  • Utilizing various frameworks learned in the seminar
  • Assimilating newly acquired techniques, strategies and levels of awareness

 

Here's the truth: many professionals prepare to negotiate by tensing their shoulders, drinking caffeine, and ignoring odd feelings in the pits of their stomachs. My unique professional experiences have afforded me a front row seat to watch colleagues practice negotiation skills and approaches. And, as a comedic improviser — I can confidently say that the deliberate practice you will have in this course will give you a chance to flex your agility and creativity. I encourage you to 'get to yes' and register because (although your caffeine intake may not change) you will leave thinking differently about negotiation and, maybe, even yourself.”

K.M. Zouhary, JD
K.M. Zouhary

What do students say about the Negotiation for Professionals program?

Quotes from students in the 2024 session:

"The relevancy of the content and the ability to apply it to real-life examples was absolutely beyond my expectations. It was a masterfully planned and paced program."

"Wonderful course. One of the most helpful, engaging, and practical professional development experiences I’ve ever had. It was also surprisingly fun!"

"This program is not only applicable to the professional arena, but also applicable to all relationships in life."

"It was a phenomenal course. Jammed packed with information and reflection on continuous learning. I would recommend it to my friends and colleagues."

"Great program! The concepts and practical lessons learned were very helpful. The program opened my eyes to a totally different perspective about Negotiations."

 

 

Related Programs

Northwestern also offers these related professional development certificate programs:

Divorce Mediation Training   •   Mediation Skills Training

 

Find out more about Northwestern's Negotiation for Professionals Program

Negotiation for Professionals Core Courses

Core Courses:Course Detail
Negotiation for Professionals SUM_NEG 101-0

Through a combination of theory and strategies used by experienced negotiators, you will discover new ways to manage key issues, defuse crises and negotiate disputes. You will gain insight to improve communication and successfully manage your negotiation.

In this program, you will:

  • Practice the basic principles of negotiation
  • Incorporate cutting-edge techniques to take your negotiation to the next level
  • Utilize the “core-concerns framework” to understand and stimulate helpful emotions
  • Achieve higher levels of focus, clarity, and mindfulness in negotiation and mediation
  • Enhance your individual and organizational effectiveness
  • Expand your network with leading professionals from around the country

This exclusive, three-day seminar integrates traditional negotiation skills with groundbreaking techniques largely absent from other negotiation programs.


View SUM_NEG 101-0 Sections