Coaching Sessions
The following are representative examples of individual coaching sessions that CTPL can deliver as standardized or customized courses.
How to Negotiate Online
Online sessions are increasingly being integrated into meeting schedules for negotiations. Virtual negotiations can be effective if you understand the opportunities and constraints they represent in your overall negotiating strategy. Being comfortable with negotiating online can also improve your performance in negotiations. This session uses a simulation and a discussion and debrief session to improve your understanding of how to conduct negotiations online and to improve your skills in negotiating trade agreements using online platforms.
Negotiation Strategy and Tactics
This session introduces you to the CTPL Trade Negotiation Mapping Tool to assist you and your team to develop an effective negotiation strategy. Participants use the Tool in teams to develop a negotiation strategy on a particular trade issue. Each team then presents and discusses their recommended strategy with the coaches and participants.
Team Dynamics
Implementing an effective trade negotiation strategy depends on a strong and disciplined team of technical experts, negotiators and coordinators working together in common cause to achieve the team’s negotiating objectives. This session focuses on improving your understanding of: how trade negotiation teams prepare for, and participate in, former negotiating sessions; and how members of rthe negotiating team can support their Chapter Leads in preparation for, during, and after former negotiating sessions.
Drafting an FTA Chapter
Drafting agreements are both a technical exercise and a critical stage in negotiations. This session focuses on the role of text development in an effective negotiation strategy. From this session, you will improve your understanding of drafting principles in text development for a chapter in a trade agreement and improve your understanding of how negotiators can optimize the role of lawyers in the negotiation process.
Dealing with Stalemates
Conflict is inherent to any negotiation and especially arises in trade negotiations. Learning to anticipate, manage and resolve conflict in a critical success factor in the implementation of any trade negotiation strategy. This session provides tips on how to deal with and resolve conflict in negotiations. The application exercise is a simulation of a stalemate in bilateral trade negotiations in which each team attempts to re-start the negotiations based on confidential mandates from their respective governments.
Dealing with Curveballs
All negotiators will tell you that you need to expect the unexpected and negotiations never go completely as planned. In this session, you will improve your skills in dealing effectively with the unexpected from the other side. The session will provide tips on how to deal with curveballs and you will work in teams to develop a strategy to deal effectively when the other side tries to put you on the defensive by throwing you a curveball.
Stakeholder Engagement
Trade negotiators will frequently say that 80 percent of all negotiations are done “at home” with stakeholders inside and outside government, civil society, and the media. This session will focus on improving your ability to communicate with stakeholders to identify their needs, expectations, motivations, and interests; to plan and execute an effective stakleholder engagement strategy through a team exercise; and to apply techniques and best practices to effectively and continuously engage and influence key stakeholders at each stage in a trade negotiation.
Preparing for the End Game
The best outcome in a negotiation requires a very considered and disciplined approach to managing the end game. This session focuses on increasing your skills in briefing your Chief for the end game and examines real examples of how end games strategies were executed effectively.