Comms & Negotiation

Question 1

How can negotiation be defined?

Answer 1

Negotiation can be defined as the process of joint decision making through back and forth communication.

Question 2

What are methods of communication?

Answer 2

• Written
• Oral
• Physical (ie body language)

Question 3

How is good communication achieved?

Answer 3

Considering the three main points of communication, what is said, how it’s said and body language.

Question 4

What are some basic negotiation skills?

Answer 4

• Good communication
• Active listening
• Emotional intelligence
• Planning and preparation
• Persuasiveness and adaptability

Question 5

What are the different styles of negotiation?

Answer 5

• Collaborative
• Competitive
• Avoidant
• Accommodating
• Compromising

Question 6

How would you negotiate with a contractor?

Answer 6

If it were a FA meeting, I would plan and prepare and communicate clearly my stance in advanced to manage expectations.

Question 7

Can you provide an example of successful negotiation?

Answer 7

When I was working contractor side I successfully negotiated a large variation to the contract that the EA was trying to dismiss.

Question 8

Can you provide an example of unsuccessful negotiation?

Answer 8

• When I was on the contracting side I was able to verify a variation was not entitled to cost but I had to concede on the additional time.
• This made it a relevant event.

Question 9

The client wishes to negotiate your fee proposal down; would you enter into negotiations to secure the win?

Answer 9

For me, it would depend if this was the first job for them and if they understood this would be a one off to see how well we can perform.

Question 10

How do you control and manage the flow of communication on your project?

Answer 10

I set a president from the beginning that communication must flow from client to contractor through us as a consultant and vice versa. I do this by setting regular meetings, issuing minutes and implementing trackers.

Question 11

What processes did you adopt to control the communication of change on the project?

Answer 11

• Establish a weekly meeting to discuss all changes
• Create a change tracker to write down all changes and update the status
• Email out the updated tracker to all stakeholders so they are aware also.

Question 12

In what ways have you demonstrated effective written communication skills?

Answer 12

When managing change, when a variation comes in from a contractor, I complete and initial assessment and then respond to the email with my own queries if necessary.