Last Thursday we had the honour to participate in a workshop given by Professor Addor. He has been responsible for legal and policy matters regarding all fields of intellectual property at the national and international level since 1999. Furthermore, he leads Swiss negotiating delegations to the relevant international fora, such as the WTO and the WIPO and to bi- and plurilateral negotiations.
In his presentation he elaborated on different aspects of negotiation that seem to be very useful for MUN conferences but also for private life.
One thing that might even be the most important one for a successful negotiation is preparation. That includes, first of all, self recognition: Who am I? What are my goals for this project? Then of course, I need to know who the person will be opposite of the table. What are their interests? Or more importantly, what is my relationship with them?
This was a second point he brought across. Before starting the negotiations you need to get to know „the other side“. This might take time and several extensive dinners but it shall be worth it.
Negotiations can be tough and you should try to make your point. However, also be gentle to your negotiating partner. There has to be a differentiation between issue and person (same thing in real life). It is again about having a good relationship with people of whom you want something.
All in all, Mr. Addor gave us an insight in psychology and how to use it in a way that in the end all parties can say „we negotiated well!“.
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