A workshop on “Negotiations Skills” was conducted on Wednesday, 23^rd April, 2025 at NIPA, Lahore with an aim to enlighten the participants of 43^rd MCMC. The workshop was conducted by Syed Kaleem Imam.

The guest speaker started the session by defining negotiation as the process of discussing something with someone in order to reach an agreement. He then explained the two types of negotiations viz., integrative and distributive. The former leads to a win-win situation, while the latter leads to win-lose situation. Moving on, he discussed the importance of negotiations, it boosts confidence, facilitates change, promotes fairness and enhances flexibility. It is crucial for professional and personal success and is applicable to all fields of life. The guest speaker identified the stages of negotiation being preparation, exchange of information, bargaining and closing the deal. He further dilated upon the strategies of negotiation like preparation and planning, active listening and effective communication, rapport and trust building, Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA), creating value, anchoring, framing and using emotional intelligence. Competitive, collaborative, accommodative and avoidant styles of negotiation were discussed. The guest speaker mentioned some important tactics of negotiation like bogey approach, chicken approach and deadline approach through a hand on exercise and highlighted the challenges in negotiation. He gave pertinent examples of negotiation from Islamic history and the world history. Ending the session with the Dos and Don’ts of negotiation, the guest speaker advised the participants to be balanced and help others in order to rise themselves.