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Description

Negotiation: Preparing Your Margins, Building Arguments and Holding Your Position Under Pressure

Enter negotiations with a prepared framework, arguments that hold and a position that withstands pressure

  • 3 days — 21 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Intermediate
  • Up to 6 participants

Executives rarely negotiate in comfortable conditions: an unfavourable balance of power, a counterpart who opens extremely low, a timetable imposed from outside. Without quantified preparation, the discussion drifts towards one-sided concessions and the agreement reached later proves difficult to honour.

Three days built around practice rather than theory. Participants prepare their own negotiations, run them on camera and analyse the precise moments at which their position gave way. This intermediate level assumes an existing practice that the programme is designed to correct.

Learning objectives

  • Prepare a negotiation by quantifying your walk-away point and your trade-offs
  • Identify the other party's real interests behind their stated positions
  • Build arguments that withstand price and lead-time objections
  • Recognise pressure tactics and respond to them without damaging the relationship
  • Close an agreement and secure its implementation

What makes this programme different

Each participant brings a live negotiation and prepares it during the session
Simulations are filmed and the exact moment of concession is reviewed on screen
A quantified preparation grid is completed and ready to use on return to work

Programme

1Preparation and Balance of Power

What is decided before the first meeting

  • Mapping the issues at stake and the decision-makers
  • Assessing each party's fallback options
  • Setting the opening point and the walk-away point
  • Building a set of tradable concessions

2Opening and Exploration

Draw them out before you argue

  • Anchoring the first proposal
  • Questioning the interests behind stated positions
  • Listening for signals of flexibility
  • Managing silence and timing

3Argumentation and Defending Value

Holding your price without confrontation

  • Building arguments supported by evidence
  • Responding to price and lead-time objections
  • Turning concessions into trades
  • Preserving the relationship during disagreement

4Pressure, Imbalance and Deadlock

Recognising the tactics and responding to them

  • Common pressure tactics and the counters to each
  • How to respond to an ultimatum
  • Breaking a deadlock by changing the variable
  • Deciding whether to adjourn or end the discussion

5Agreement and Follow-Through

Turning a verbal agreement into a commitment that holds

  • Verifying the scope before signature
  • Drafting the sensitive clauses
  • Communicating the agreement internally
  • Monitoring execution and addressing deviations

Who is it for

Executives sitting on management committees and senior managers who lead high-stakes commercial, employee-relations or partnership negotiations.

Prerequisites

Prior experience of leading professional negotiations.

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.