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Negotiations are an integral part of business. If the negotiation is done well, both parties have the satisfaction of having squeezed the best out of the deal, writes Ranjan Acharya.

Negotiations happen all the time. At home, children negotiate for a few extra minutes of sleep on a school day. On the road, vehicles negotiate for every miniscule gap in the traffic to move ahead. Negotiations are an integral part of business and form the basis of most decisions. If the negotiation is done well, both parties have the satisfaction of having squeezed the best out of the deal. But if the negotiation is conducted badly, it can appear insulting, create avoidable bitterness and in some cases, lead to broken jaws.

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Negotiation etiquette, thus, is an important element of business etiquette.

Finally, humour can lighten a tense moment. But it must be appropriate or it can become a deal-breaker. There is a character in a Wodehouse novel, desperate to sell his house. But he has a joke that he just cannot resist telling. Just when the deal is about to close, he blurts out, “In the summer, the lake is at the bottom of the house. In winter, the house is at the bottom of the lake.” The prospective buyer drops the pen with which he was about to sign the cheque and heads for wide open spaces.

Ranjan Acharya is Senior Vice President – Corporate Human Resources Development at Wipro Corporation