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Becoming an Effective Negotiator
Effective negotiation requires more than tactics. It demands awareness, clarity and the ability to adapt in the moment.
This program blends contemporary negotiation research with personalised coaching to help you recognise your natural style, refine your approach and build the skills to lead constructive, confident and outcome-focused negotiations.
What to expect
Negotiation is a core leadership capability, yet it is influenced as much by behaviour, emotion and habit as by strategy. Effective negotiation is not a linear process. It is complex, dynamic and must be actively managed as it unfolds. This program provides a practical, research-informed framework for understanding how agreements are reached and how to manage the route to agreement with greater clarity and control.
Guided by Professor Ray Fells from the UWA Business School, whose work underpins the widely regarded UWA MBA negotiation program, and enhanced by the performance coaching and role-playing expertise of The Experience Lab, you will gain real insight into your own negotiation tendencies and learn how to strengthen them. Drawing on practical business experience, structured analysis and reflective practice, the program integrates behavioural insight with disciplined strategy.
You will explore how agreements are reached, how to move conversations forward and how to prepare effectively using an other-directed approach that balances goals with relationships. Through accessible frameworks, you will learn to assess power, manage the three key tasks of negotiation, information exchange, creating space and securing the best possible outcome, and respond constructively to critical incidents and emerging deadlocks.
A defining feature of this program is its personalised coaching. Realistic role-play simulations, led by trained performance actors, allow you to practise the subtleties of negotiation in a safe and supported environment. You will receive specific and considered feedback on behavioural cues such as tone, pacing, bias, reactions and non-verbal influence. These insights help you understand how your actions shape the experience of the other party and the results you achieve, strengthening your ability to reflect both during and after negotiations.
The program culminates in a substantial negotiation simulation, grounded in real business scenarios, that brings together your learning, stretch challenges and personalised guidance. You will leave with practical skills, stronger strategic judgement, clearer awareness of your negotiation blind spots and a more deliberate, adaptable approach that can be applied immediately in complex workplace contexts.
Is this course for you
What you will explore
Where this course can take you
About the Facilitator
Professor Ray Fells
Professor Ray Fells is a leading authority on negotiation and workplace conflict. He began his career as an industrial relations conciliator in the United Kingdom, working with management and unions to resolve disputes. This experience shaped his practical and relational approach to negotiation.
Ray’s negotiation framework underpins his highly regarded UWA MBA class and has been refined through extensive research into business and workplace negotiations. He has taught at university business schools including Cambridge, Copenhagen and Vienna, as well as at other Australian universities and for a wide range of organisations.
His teaching integrates research, practical insight and structured reflection, enabling experienced practitioners to deepen their capability and achieve more effective outcomes in complex negotiations.
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