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Negotiation skills

Need to negotiate with clients, colleagues or business contacts? Here's a range of books, articles and guides to help you successfully develop your negotiating skills.
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Latest on negotiation skills

Read our latest features and articles on negotiation skills.
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Why you need great influencing skills
  • Article
  • 30 Apr 2024
Accountants with the ability to influence others will be seen as trusted business partners and strategic aides – and may end up working on high-level tasks that don’t involve numbers.
How accountants can harness the power of personal presence
  • Article
  • 11 Jan 2021
12 January 2021: Author and practice owner Della Hudson examines why developing an impressive personal presence is crucial for the modern accountant.
Exclusive Dealing with conflict
  • Article
  • 15 Oct 2019
Matthew Leitch on how wargaming might help finance managers deal with everyday conflicts.
Exclusive Negotiate the positive
  • Article
  • 13 May 2013
Even the most confident executive can falter when it comes to doing deals. Negotiation expert Clive Rich answers the four key questions geared to achieving success in the boardroom.
Exclusive Communication and influence
  • Article
  • 01 Apr 2006
How do you get your point across in the best possible way? At a 2006 Faculty event Rick Payne provided both model and map for becoming a better communicator. Helen Fearnley reports.

Reports

Exclusive Special Report 56: Soft skills that FDs need
  • Report
  • 2017
  • PDF (5,953kb)
A special report looking at the soft skills that FDs need to succeed
Exclusive Special Report 48: Budgeting
  • Report
  • 2015
  • PDF (2,802kb)
The role of budgets and budgeting is fundamental to planning business ventures. We hope that this report will provide you with a practical and interesting guide to budgeting.

Business press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive Negotiate like a extortion negotiator
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2024
  • Scott Walker
In his former career as a kidnapping and extortion negotiator, the author handled sensitive negotiations all over the world. Through his experiences, observations, and conversations with other experts in the field, he developed a deep understanding of what works and what doesn’t in high-stakes negotiations. Here he shares guidance on what he calls the level-five mindset, which involves deep listening to better understand and interpret a counterpart’s self-perception and perspective.
Exclusive How to handle an emotionally charged negotiation
  • Article
  • 15 Dec 2023
  • Greg McKeown
A three-step guide to handling emotionally charged negotiations in the workplace with empathy and grace.
Exclusive How to deal with a dishonest negotiator
  • Article
  • 01 Dec 2023
  • Leslie K.John
People, including negotiators, lie every day, so when you’re trying to make a deal, it’s important to defend against deception. The best strategy, says the author, is to focus not on detecting lies but on preventing them. She outlines five tactics that research has shown to be effective.
Exclusive The psych in negotiations: Using human factors to attain superior outcomes
  • Article
  • 01 Dec 2023
  • Mark Trowbridge, Melanie Trowbridge
Advice for procurement professionals on how to be successful in negotiation processes. Four main techniques are described in detail - preparation to understand the supplier's needs, appreciating the counterparty's personality traits, reading non-spoken body language and using interrogatives to appropriately shift the other party's paradigm. A range of example suggestive and leading questions are given which can be used by the negotiator to strengthen their position.
Exclusive The art of supplier negotiations in today's complex digital age
  • Article
  • 01 Aug 2023
  • Saraj Gupta
The article focuses on the evolution of supplier negotiations in the digital age, highlighting topics such as game theory as a modelling tool, the use of internet auctions and video conferencing platforms, data analytics, and the emerging role of chatbots in procurement and negotiation roles. The author also discusses potential risks associated with implementing digital procurement within organizations.
Exclusive The negotiation 'pie'
  • Article
  • 01 Nov 2021
  • Adam Bradenburger, Chelsea Cavanaugh, Ted Cavanaugh, Barry Nalebuff
People often don't understand what's really at stake in a negotiation: the 'pie' - and their misconceptions make it much harder to reach agreement. The solution, the authors say, is to recognise that the gains to be shared from the negotiation pie should be divided equally, because both sides are essential to creating it.
Exclusive Negotiating your next job
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2021
  • Hannah Rowley Bowles, Bobbi Thomason
If you’re looking to further your career it’s important to think strategically about what you want, together with how to get it. The authors discuss four steps to help you prepare for career negotiations, whether joining another company or moving into a different role with your current employer.
Exclusive Strategies and tactics for complex negotiations online and offline
  • Article
  • 01 Jun 2020
  • Millar, Roddy
Offers advice on how to negotiate successfully in a range of situations, including in a virtual context.
More articles

eBooks

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Assert yourself: how to find your voice and make your mark
  • eBook
  • 2009
  • Bloomsbury Publishing Staff
  • Bloomsbury Publishing
Practical advice on assertiveness to help you find your voice and make your mark.
Exclusive Practical solutions to global business negotiations
  • eBook
  • 2012
  • Claude Cellich, Subhash Jain
  • Business Expert Press
Negotiating with international partners.
Exclusive Primer on negotiating corporate purchase contracts, A
  • eBook
  • 2009
  • Patrick Penfield
  • Business Expert Press
Designed to help buyers with negotiations.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on negotiation skills. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

External resources - Guides and reports

Essential guide to negotiating
  • Website
  • Atom Content Marketing
Skilful negotiation helps you get the right deal. This business guide covers knowing what you want, understanding their position, your negotiating strategy, controlling the negotiation, making concessions, negotiating on price, contract issues and building a relationship.
Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
  • Website
  • Atom Content Marketing
The Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation produces regular articles, videos and a selection of free reports covering business negotiations and negotiation skills.
Select and negotiate with suppliers
  • Website
  • Atom Content Marketing
A guide to selecting and negotiating with suppliers. Selecting the right suppliers makes a major difference to the cost and quality of your firm's products and services, especially when your company is expanding.
Terms of use

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