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There are tons of negotiation books, and that’s just on my shelves. However, there is always room for another, especially if it is an easy read with some practical suggestions, and that is just what “The One Minute Negotiator: Simple Steps to Reach Better Agreements” by Don Hutson and George Lucas provides. It has a Foreword by Ken Blanchard, author of “The One Minute Manager,” and like that classic text, this book is written as a parable with the negotiation lessons coming out as the main character of the story learns them. It’s not earth shattering, especially to someone who teaches mediation and negotiation skills. But it is a good, simple book, that will help those who suffer from what the authors call negotiaphobia.

The story is about Jay Baxter, who works for XL Information Solutions, and who embarks on a company cruise. It just so happens, that a speaker on the cruise will be presenting a seminar called “Treating Your Negotiaphobia.” Jay is reluctant to attend, and even puts his foot in his mouth while talking to the negotiation instructor the night before the seminar, as he does not know who he is talking to. (Yes, it is predictable, and you the reader know right away the mistake he is making.)

Jay decides to be committed to the course and see what he can learn. To his surprise, the concepts the instructor teaches make sense and he embraces the information and enjoys the seminar. Obviously, he uses the newly learned strategies and concepts after leaving the cruise to succeed in his position.

So, yes, it is a simple story and predictable. But you are not really reading it to be entertained and kept in suspense. The key to the book is the formula the instructor teaches during his on board seminar. It is a simple process that entails recognizing you are in a negotiation and reviewing the viable strategies, evaluating your tendency to use each of the negotiation strategies, as well as the tendencies of the other side(s), and selecting the proper strategy for the particular negotiation.

The authors do a good job of explaining the concepts and why they are important. At the end of each chapter there is a summary of the chapter’s insights. At the beginning of this review, I commented on how many negotiation books are out there. Many of them teach specific negotiation strategies and tactics. This book is different in that it teaches a framework to look at negotiations and I would encourage people to look at the techniques and tactics learned elsewhere through this framework.

One thing about the book is that it is very easy to read. It’s not long at all, and if it provides a framework for you to look at negotiations differently, especially if you suffer from negotiaphobia, it will be worth your time. We negotiate all of the time, and any time you can learn to increase your effectiveness in this valuable skill, it will pay off. This was a good addition to my conflict and negotiation resources, and I’m sure I’ll review it now and then as I continue to teach others, learn, and negotiate myself.

If you get to the second stage of the job application process and are invited for interview, you may well find that candidates are required to give a presentation – a prospect which terrifies many jobhunters! The presentation generally lasts for 5 or 10 minutes and usually applicants are warned before the interview, but sometimes it’s sprung upon them on arrival.

Whichever scenario you encounter, you can make sure you are well prepared. If you know the subject of your presentation in advance, this is obviously a great deal easier, but also means much more will be expected of you. So you must take the time to put together a professional presentation and practise it until you can do it in your sleep!

Let’s assume you know your subject in advance. Here are a few pointers to ensure a smooth presentation.

Read the Brief

You must make sure you understand exactly what you are required to talk about in your presentation and to whom it will be addressed. The subject matter is likely to be something specific about the company itself or an aspect of the job. Your audience could be anyone – staff members, clients, potential partners, students considering joining the organisation.

Be Aware of your Audience

It’s important to prepare a talk aimed at the audience, rather than the interviewers. For example, if you are being interviewed for a post in student services at a university or college, you may be asked to explain the student loans system and other sources of funding to a group of new students. The people facing you will all be managers and HR staff. Some of them will know the system and others won’t know or care to know. But you have to imagine that you are talking to a group of students, all of whom are really worried about how they are going to manage their finances. So prepare accordingly.

Timing

If you are asked to give a 5 minute presentation, make it 5 minutes, not 10. A few seconds over or under is fine and for a longer presentation, you’ll get away with a minute or two. But if you ramble on for 10 or 15 minutes in a supposedly 5 minute talk, you will not make a good impression. What will this say about you? That you are not good at managing time and/or you are not good at following instructions.

How can you ensure your presentation is the correct length?

You can practise!

In this case, practice does make perfect. So practise aloud, with actions, until you get it right. Perform to your friends, relatives, the cat or anyone else who will listen. They can also give you some feedback on content. Well, except the cat, perhaps. Although if it walks off in disgust, you might want to consider making a few changes!

The more presentations you give, the easier it gets in all respects, including timing. So if you are used to presenting, being put on the spot should not cause a problem with timing.

And What If You are Dropped in at the Deep End?

If you suspect you might be required to give a presentation without warning, you can still do plenty of preparation. Choose the topics which you think are likely to come up and prepare those. Think about the job and what will be expected of you – what sort of knowledge and skills will you be expected to have already? And make sure you do your research on the company – the presentation could be designed to test how much homework you’ve done. Come up with a few general points which would fit a presentation related to any job in the field you’re applying for and then before each interview, prepare one or two points which are specific to the post concerned.

Even if you don’t get an exact match with your prepared talk, you’ll be so used to presenting that you’ll able to put together an alternative very quickly.

© Waller Jamison 2005