Negotiating in a Virtual World

• Professionals looking to improve their negotiation performance and outcomes
• Sales and marketing managers, merger and acquisition professionals, entrepreneurs, purchasing managers, and human resource professionals
• Government administrators and administrators of not-for-profit organizations
• Managers coordinating across functions, businesses or cultures

• Improve your negotiation skills through challenging exercises
• Receive constructive, detailed feedback
• Practice negotiating using various communication technologies
• Structure value-creating deals that involve multiple, complex issues
• Expand your negotiation best practices to leverage global environments
• Practice negotiating solo, as part of a team and in multi-party contexts

Module 1- BUILDING A NEGOTIATION STRATEGY

• Optimize opening offers
• Participate in deal-making simulations
• Leverage BATNAs, reservation bottom lines and targets

Module 2- STRATEGIZING FOR COMPLEX BUSINESS DEALS

• Explore a complex negotiation scenario
• Multi-issue, high-stakes negotiation
• Learn to reveal or conceal
• Optimize negotiation team
• Evaluate and build trust across parties
• Learn strategies for acquiring key information

Module 3 – DISPUTE RESOLUTION

• Focus on disputes and contentious negotiations 
• Navigate emotionally-charged situations
• Learn to de-escalate conflict
• Plan for multi-party and multi-issue negotiations
• Negotiate for mutual and individual gains
• Maintain and enhance your reputation

Module 4 - RECOGNIZING AGENTS AND ETHICS

• Learn when to use agents
• Align incentives for agents
• Manage agents’ ethics
• Sharpen your value ethics
• Develop a planning document

Module 5 – NEGOTIATING GLOBALLY

• Negotiate a complex multi-cultural scenario
• Adjust to cultural differences in negotiators’ interests and strategies
• Communicate and confront directly and indirectly
• Plan and implement a negotiation strategy
• Communicate and confront directly and indirectly
• Sharpen nonverbal communication skills
• Craft win-win deals

Leigh Thompson - J. Jay Gerber Professor of Dispute Resolution & Organizations Professor of Management & Organizations

What is this program about?

Negotiating in a Virtual World: Mastering High Performance Skills provides an interactive experience in which participants engage in realistic negotiation scenarios to master proven strategies through a rigorous set of tactical challenges. This program equips negotiators to effectively navigate the complex landscape of deal-making in a global and digital environment.

What is the learning experience?

Your learning experience will consist of content delivered via video lectures and real world examples. Participants will practice the concepts and frameworks taught through weekly negotiation exercises.

What is the program format?

The program consists of 5 modules delivered over 6 weeks online. Learners can expect to dedicate 3-4 hours per week to prepare and participate in negotiations, review personalized videos and debriefs, and participate in discussion boards.

Can I choose to opt out of some topics?

No. This is an online learning experience in which a topic or subject is introduced each week and you will be expected to watch the video lectures, negotiate with your assigned partners and upload the results on schedule.

What methods will be used for evaluations?

Following each negotiation you will receive meaningful feedback from Professor Leigh Thompson. This feedback will include a benchmark comparison of your negotiation experience with that of other participants.

Does the program offer community engagement for learners?

Yes, participants will create a profile, connect and collaborate with peers. In addition, each participant will be matched with negotiation partner(s) for each negotiation.

Can participation in this program be counted as credit toward a degree, either at Kellogg, Northwestern University or another academic institution?

No. Executive Education offers only non-degree programs and each participant receives a certificate of completion at the end of the program. This certificate does not count as credit toward a degree. In addition, at this time, our online programs do not count as credit toward a Kellogg Executive Scholar Certificate.

What are the requirements for accessing this program?

Participants will need the following to access Negotiating in a Virtual World:

• Valid email address
• Computing device connected to the internet (Mac/PC/laptop, tablet or smartphone)
• The latest version of your preferred browser to access our learning platform (Chrome and Firefox are preferred for accessing Canvas)
• Microsoft Office and PDF viewer to access content such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF files, and transcripts

Does the program offer a certificate?

Yes. Participants will receive a digital Certificate of Completion from Kellogg following a successful conclusion to the program. This digital certificate can be shared with colleagues and posted on LinkedIn. (PLEASE NOTE: We do not provide reports of assessments, or “transcripts,” since this is a non-degree program.)

Additional questions?

Please contact us at 847-467-6018 or ExecEd@kellogg.northwestern.edu