To be a successful negotiator, it is imperative that you do your homework. It is suggested that you spend about half the time you spend negotiating on preparing for the negotiation.

要成为一名成功的谈判者，做好功课是至关重要的。建议你将大约一半的谈判时间用于准备谈判。

Ideal Meeting Location

Ideal Meeting Location. Once you have established a relationship with someone or have negotiated with that party before, you may feel comfortable negotiating over the telephone. Otherwise, conducting the meeting in person would be better than over the phone because it will give you the opportunity to observe the other person's body language and maintain eye contact.

理想的会面地点。 一旦你与某人建立了关系或之前曾与该方进行过谈判，你可能会觉得通过电话进行谈判会更舒适。否则，面对面进行会面会比通过电话更好，因为这能让你有机会观察对方的肢体语言并保持眼神交流。

If you decide to meet in person, offer to meet at your office if possible. Not only will you feel more comfortable in your office, but you also will be able to get quicker approval from senior people（if necessary）; and it gives you the home advantage. The main advantage of meeting at the other side's offices is that you can withhold information until you return to your office. Of course, if neither party is willing to agree to meet at either office, you can always at a neutral location.

如果你决定面对面会面，最好提出在你的办公室会面。如果可能的话，在你的办公室会面不仅会让你感觉舒适，还可以更快地获得上级的批准(如果有必要的话)；同时也能让你占据主场优势。在对方办公室会面的主要好处是，你可以在回到自己的办公室之前保留信息。当然，如果双方都不愿意在任何一办公会面，你总可以在一个中立地点见面。

Evaluate your negotiation style

Evaluate your negotiation style. Before you can improve your negotiation style, you should think about evaluating your current style and your personality. Thinking about the last few negotiations you participated in, what tactics do you think were successful? In what areas do you think you could improve? Would you say you used hard or soft bargaining techniques? Did you tend to be direct or in direct in your negotiation dealings? What would you say are your hot buttons? If you think about how you react in different situations and what your turn-ons and turnoffs are, you will be better prepared to handle yourself professionally while maintaining your composure during your next negotiation. And this can be an advantage when dealing with people whose tempers get the best of them.

评估你的谈判风格。在你能够改进你的谈判风格之前，你应该考虑评估你当前的风格和个性。回想一下你最近参与的几次谈判，你认为哪些策略是成功的？在哪些方面你认为自己可以改进？你会说你使用的是强硬还是柔和的谈判技巧？在谈判中你倾向于直接还是间接？你认为你的“敏感点”是什么？如果你考虑自己在不同情况下的反应，以及你的兴趣点和反感点，你将更好地准备在下次谈判中专业地处理自己，同时保持冷静。这在应对那些容易发脾气的人时可能是一种优势。

Establish your goals and objectives

Establish your goals and objectives. You need to determine your primary goal and objectives --that is , what you want to get out of the negotiation. Your primary should be realistic and accessible. Let's say your main goals is to hire a new office manger. It is unrealistic to assume that you will be able to hire an office manger at 0 per year and no benefits. You should expand your main goal to include other objectives. For example, you would like to hire a new office manger and pay 4000 per mouth and 75 percent of health and dental insurance, offer 10 days of vacation and 5 days of sick time for the first year, and match up to 3 percent of salary in the company's plan.

确立你的目标和宗旨。你需要确定你的主要目标和宗旨——也就是说，你希望通过谈判获得什么。你的主要目标应当是现实且可实现的。比如说，你的主要目标是招聘一名新的办公室经理。假设你能够以每年 0 元且无任何福利的条件聘请到办公室经理，这是不现实的。你应当将主要目标扩展到其他目标上。例如，你希望招聘一名新的办公室经理，并支付每月 4000 元的薪资，承担 75%的医疗和牙科保险，在第一年提供 10 天的年假和 5 天的病假，并在公司的计划中按薪资的 3%进行匹配。

Research the other Team's members and personalities

Research the other Team's members and personalities. Once you have established your goals and objectives and those of the other party, the next step in preparing for negotiation is gathering as much information as you can about the opposing party's personalities. If you do not have a relationship with them already, begin to establish one by setting up a meeting or two prior to the negotiation. Perhaps you can meet informally over lunch one afternoon . If you are unable to meet with your counterparts prior to the negotiation, consider calling their assistants to find out more information regarding how to make them comfortable during the negotiation. Ask their assistants what they like to eat and drink so that you can have things prepared at the time of the negotiation.

研究对方团队的成员及性格。一旦你明确了自己的目标和对方的目标，准备谈判的下一步就是尽可能多地收集关于对方性格的信息。如果你们之间尚未建立关系，可以通过在谈判前安排一两次会面来开始建立关系。也许可以在某天下午非正式地共进午餐。如果在谈判前无法与对方见面，可以考虑打电话给他们的助理，以了解如何在谈判过程中让对方感到舒适。询问助理对方喜欢吃什么、喝什么，以便在谈判时做好准备。

Do you think the other side uses a hard or soft bargaining strategy? Can you trust them? How long do they anticipate the process will take? Do you know anyone acquainted with a number of the opposite team who can give you some information about them? What makes them tick? Are they impatient? Demanding? How long do they anticipate this process to take?

你认为对方使用的是强硬还是柔和的谈判策略？你能信任他们吗？他们预计这个过程会持续多久？你认识熟悉对方团队中一些人的人吗，能给你一些关于他们的信息？他们的动机是什么？他们急躁吗？要求多吗？他们预计这个过程会持续多久？

The more you know about the people on the other side, the more prepared you will be for the negotiation. And the more prepared you are, the more confident you will be because you will what to expect.

你对对方了解得越多，你在谈判中就会越有准备。而你越有准备，你就会越自信，因为你知道会发生什么。

Make a list of assumptions

Make a list of assumptions. Skilled negotiators rezlize that people sometimes have mistaken assumptions that they believe to be facts. When negotiating with another party for the first time, we have to make certain assumptions as to what some of their body language, expresssions, or phrases mean. Ask for clarification! Don't assume anything. Make a list of assumptions to bring to the negotiation and clarify any points that are unclear or uncertain.

列出假设。 熟练的谈判者意识到人们有时会把错误的假设当作事实。在第一次与另一方进行谈判时，我们必须对他们的一些肢体语言、表情或短语的含义做出一定的假设。寻求澄清！不要假设任何事情。列出带到谈判中的假设清单，并澄清任何不清楚或不确定的点。

Gather facts and conduct research

Gather facts and conduct research. The next step involves gathering as much information as you can about the subject of the negotiation. Let's say that you own a pizza restaurant and you are negotiating prices with the landlord who owns the building in which you operate you restaurant. To persuade the other side that you are asking for something that is reasonable, you need to provide supporting data.

收集事实并进行研究。下一步是尽可能多地收集关于谈判主题的信息。假设你拥有一家披萨餐厅，并且正在与房东就你经营餐厅所在的建筑租金进行谈判。为了说服对方你所要求的是合理的，你需要提供支持数据。

For example, if you would like to renew your lease at the same price you paid the provious year, you would need to prove why it would be unfair of your landlord to increase your rent. Research regarding real estate prices in similar buildings located in the surrounding area of your restaurant, restaurant occupancy rates in your city, the number of new restaurant openings in the past year in your city, and the average increase in rent in your city would be some topics worth researching prior to the negotiation. You can find this types of information on the Internet, by asking for assistance at your local community library, by speaking to local real estate leasing agent, or by meeting with other building owners in your area. You may also want to find out about what the current issuse are in the real estate industry. Another way to get the latest news and information regarding the real estate industry is to read trade publicaitons or visit the web sites of real trade associations for current articles.

例如，如果您想以去年支付的相同价格续租，您需要证明房东提高租金是不公平的。在谈判前，值得研究的主题包括：您餐厅所在区域类似建筑的房地产价格、您所在城市餐厅的入住率、过去一年内您所在城市新开餐厅的数量，以及您所在城市租金的平均增长幅度。您可以通过互联网查找这些信息，向当地社区图书馆寻求帮助，与本地房地产租赁代理商交谈，或与您所在地区的其他房产所有者会面。您还可能希望了解房地产行业当前存在的问题。获取房地产行业最新新闻和信息的另一种方式是阅读行业刊物或访问房地产协会的官方网站，查看最新文章。