How do we become Great Negotiators - We use....
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NEGOTIATION CARDS
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Join The Negotiation Club and see them in practice!Practise Negotiation Skills With Negotiation Cards
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Most people don’t struggle with negotiation because they “don’t know what to do”.
They struggle because, in the moment, they "can’t reliably do it".
- They rush.
- They fill silence.
- They accept the first anchor.
- They forget to ask the question they planned.
- They miss the signal that the other side is uncomfortable.
- They lose structure when the conversation gets tense.
That is not a knowledge problem. It is a practice problem.
Negotiation Cards are designed to solve that problem by giving you a simple, repeatable way to practise the micro-moments that decide outcomes.
Created by The Negotiation Club they are specifically designed to be the most effective training kit for practising and honing our negotiation skills.
What Are Negotiation Cards?
Negotiation Cards are short, structured prompts that create a realistic negotiation scenario in minutes.
Each card gives you:
- A role (Buyer/Seller)
- A clear objective (what a good outcome looks like for you)
- Constraints (your limits, tradeables, and priorities)
- Variables (one, two, three, or more items to negotiate)
- Optional tactics to practise (e.g., active listening, summarising, saying no, anchoring, trading, clarification questions)
They turn “we should practise sometime” into “we can practise right now”.
Why Cards Work When Other Training Doesn’t Stick
Traditional negotiation training often relies on theory, examples, and good intentions. You might leave a session thinking, “That makes sense.” Then you go back to work and default to your habits.
Negotiation Cards force behavioural rehearsal:
- You practise a specific skill repeatedly
- You experience pressure in a safe environment
- You get immediate feedback
- You run it again and improve
This is how skills become usable, not just understood.
A Simple Way to Practise in 10 Minutes
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You can use Negotiation Cards in pairs or small groups. Here’s a straightforward structure that works well:
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Pick a card (single-variable if you want speed; multi-variable for depth)
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Agree a time-box (4–8 minutes is ideal)
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Assign roles (one negotiator, one observer if available)
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Negotiate (focus on the tactic you’re practising)
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Debrief immediately (2–3 minutes of feedback)
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Run it again (swap roles or repeat with a small change)
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That final step—running it again—is where improvement accelerates.
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The Types of Practice You Can Create
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Negotiation Cards let you control the difficulty without changing the structure.
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Single-variable cardsÂ
Best for practising one tactic at a time (e.g., questioning, pausing, summarising, handling “no”, professional flinch).
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Two- and three-variable cardsÂ
Best for practising trading and building value (e.g., “If you can do X, then we can do Y”).
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Complex multi-variable cardsÂ
Best for practising structure under pressure: agenda-setting, team negotiation roles, managing concessions, and staying calm when there’s a lot to track.
