Learn how to negotiate like a diplomat, think on your feet like an improv performer, and master job offer negotiation like a professional athlete when you download a copy of our FREE special report, Negotiation Skills: Negotiation Strategies and Negotiation Techniques to Help You Become a Better Negotiator, from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

executive education

What is Executive Education in Negotiation?

How can organizations increase the odds that executive education in negotiation will lead to beneficial long-term results?

After attending intensive executive education courses, managers typically return to the office with a sense of excitement about applying their new knowledge—only to find 200 e-mails and 25 voicemail messages waiting for them. Amid the chaos, the lessons of the past few days are forgotten. The unmet challenge of executive education is the transfer of knowledge from the classroom to the real world.

Across the globe, negotiation skills training has become a common activity in managerial life. Organizations often take steps to improve their managers’ negotiation skills and their ability to manage other negotiators by enrolling them in executive education programs.

In the best negotiation courses, executive education focuses not only how to effectively manage the negotiations they face, but also how to uncover new negotiation opportunities they may otherwise have missed.

When looking for a executive training program for yourself or your team, be sure to consider the following questions:

  • Does the negotiation training promise to give you opportunities to practice joint problem-solving and fact-finding?
  • Is the negotiation training program led by experts who have experience studying observing, and engaging in complex negotiation situations where a competitive mindset can be difficult to break?
  • Does the negotiation training teach principles of negotiation in business that you believe you will be able to adapt to negotiations and disputes in your career?

If the executive education you are considering can answer these questions in the affirmative, it is likely to teach the kind of collaborative approach to negotiation that breaks disputes and leads to win-win agreements.

To refine your negotiation skills, download this free special report, Negotiation Training: How Harvard Negotiation Exercises, Negotiation Cases and Good Negotiation Coaching Can Make You a Better Negotiator, from Harvard Law School.

The following items are tagged executive education:

Semester Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most

Posted by & filed under PON Semester Programs.

Difficult Conversations are an important part of the human experience – at times uncomfortable or painful, however, it is possible to learn how to manage a difficult conversation in a constructive way. From business partners and relationships with customers, clients, supplier and colleagues, to dynamics with family, friends, and members of our communities, the … Read More

Negotiation Master Class November 2024 Program Guide

Posted by & filed under Free Report.

Over the years thousands of professionals have participated in negotiation programs at the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School. And after a few months or years of putting their negotiation skills and techniques to work, participants inevitably ask us, what’s next? … Read More

Negotiation Essentials Online – December 17 – 18, 2024

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Essentials Online.

Designed for maximum impact, this program will feature: interactive Zoom sessions led by a PON instructor; engaging and educational prerecorded videos featuring seven world-class PON faculty members from across Harvard, MIT, and Tufts; case studies based on real-world experience; and opportunities to negotiate and engage in discussion with your fellow participants. … Read More

Are Salary Negotiation Skills Different for Men and Women?

Posted by & filed under Salary Negotiations.

Most negotiators don’t engage in the kinds of high-stakes bargaining we read about in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, but almost every negotiator will need advanced salary negotiation skills during the course of her career to deal with a scenario that is, in many ways, the definition of a … Read More

Negotiation Essentials Online – June 3 – 5, 2025

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Essentials Online.

Designed for maximum impact, this program will feature: interactive Zoom sessions led by a PON instructor; engaging and educational prerecorded videos featuring seven world-class PON faculty members from across Harvard, MIT, and Tufts; case studies based on real-world experience; and opportunities to negotiate and engage in discussion with your fellow participants. … Read More

How Emotions Affect Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Emotions play a critical but little-understood role in negotiation. Strong emotions such as anger can derail negotiations, yet keeping emotions under wraps can lead to misunderstandings and impasse. Increasingly, researchers are looking more closely at how emotions affect negotiations. The results of two studies offer lessons related to the impact of emotions in negotiation. … Read How Emotions Affect Negotiations

Harvard Negotiation Master Class: Advanced Strategies for Experienced Negotiators – November 18–⁠20, 2024

Posted by & filed under Harvard Negotiation Master Class.

Strictly limited to 60 participants who have completed a prior course in negotiation, this first-of-its-kind program offers unprecedented access to experts from Harvard Law School, MIT, and the Harvard Kennedy School—all of whom are committed to delivering a transformational learning experience. … Read More

VIDEO: William Ury on “Getting to Yes with Yourself”

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills, Videos.

At the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, William Ury, a founding member of the Program on Negotiation and co-author of the seminal book Getting to Yes, spoke about his latest book, Getting to Yes with Yourself (and Other Worthy Opponents). Over 250 community members, students, and faculty members filled Austin Hall to hear Ury … Read More

Semester Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most

Posted by & filed under PON Semester Programs, PON Seminars.

Difficult Conversations are an important part of the human experience – at times uncomfortable or painful, however, it is possible to learn how to manage a difficult conversation in a constructive way. From business partners and relationships with customers, clients, supplier and colleagues, to dynamics with family, friends, and members of our communities, the … Read More

Dear Negotiation Coach: Coordinating Teams to Get Everyone in the Same Frames

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Training.

Q: I lead a team of approximately 50 lawyers in the in-house legal department of a Fortune 500 company. As our team gets larger, reflecting the company’s growth, I’d like to install quality-control measures to ensure that all our attorneys are effectively negotiating settlements when appropriate and taking cases to trial when not. What are … Read More

Secrets of Successful Dealmaking

Posted by & filed under Harvard Negotiation Institute, Harvard Negotiation Institute (Five-Day Programs).

Course Dates: This course is closed In corporate dealmaking, much of the action happens away from the negotiating table. Successful dealmakers understand that deal set-up and design greatly influence negotiation outcomes. In this program, you will examine the legal, tactical, and structural elements of dealmaking and acquire practical skills and techniques for navigating difficult tactics and … Read Secrets of Successful Dealmaking

Nicole Bryant is named the next Managing Director of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School

Posted by & filed under Daily.

Nicole Bryant will be joining the Program on Negotiation on January 25, 2021 as our next Managing Director. She brings to the position a proven track record of successful management and growth of large-scale continuing education programming in an international context. Bryant joins the Program on Negotiation from Tufts University, where she served as the Director … Read More

Negotiating Difficult Conversations: Dealing with Tough Topics Productively

Posted by & filed under Harvard Negotiation Institute, Harvard Negotiation Institute (Five-Day Programs).

Course Dates: This course is closed When negotiations become difficult, emotions often escalate and talks break down. To overcome barriers and turn negotiations from difficult to collaborative, from breakdown to breakthrough, you must learn to understand the inter- and intra-personal dynamics at play. In this program, you will examine how your own assumptions and behaviors can … Read More

Ask A Negotiation Expert: Spreading Negotiation Knowledge for a Better World

Posted by & filed under Leadership Skills.

For 19 years, the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School has grown and thrived under the leadership of Managing Director Susan Hackley. As PON’s chief administrative and financial officer, Hackley has overseen all activities, including academic events, executive education, interdisciplinary programs, and publications, including Negotiation Briefings. Hackley, who has taught negotiation seminars around … Read More

Lessons learned from a great negotiation leader

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Leadership in negotiation In academia, there are often subtle conflicts between the executive staff who run programs and centers, and the academics connected to them. Only a talented leader can consistently weave together such groups and integrate very different views. Susan has been such a leader for many years. She provides a vision of doing all we … Read Lessons learned from a great negotiation leader

2019 Negotiation Pedagogy Conference

Posted by & filed under Pedagogy at PON, Teaching Negotiation.

Join us in Cambridge on Friday, November 15th, 2019 for a conference on excellence and innovation in teaching negotiation. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) at the inter-university Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is pleased to announce that the 2019 Negotiation Pedagogy Conference will take place on Friday, November 15th, 2019 at Harvard Law … Read 2019 Negotiation Pedagogy Conference

Negotiation Training: Turning the Lows of Colorado’s Marijuana Laws into Highs

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Training.

In negotiation courses, trainees learn effective management strategies for their negotiations and how to find new negotiation opportunities at the bargaining table. Using an example from the city of Denver, Ben Markus reports for NPR’s Weekend Edition that Colorado’s recent legalization of marijuana has posed challenges to local jurisdictions in enforcing current federal law which … Read More

Revolutionize How You Teach TNRC Negotiation Exercises and Role-Plays

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

You’ve told us that using technology in your teaching is important so we spent some time evaluating various platforms and software that help negotiation teachers and trainers to utilize the power of role-plays in their classes. The team at iDecisionGames has created a web-based platform that offers many benefits and opportunities to transform how you … Read More

Video: Setting the Stage for Productive Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Daily, Resources, Videos.

Understanding how to arrange the meeting space is a key aspect of preparing for productive negotiations. In this video, Guhan Subramanian, professor at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, discusses a real world example of how seating arrangements can influence a negotiator’s success. The discussion was held in his negotiation training workshop “Setting the … Read More

Identity, Culture and Conflict Resolution

Posted by & filed under Daily, Events.

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is pleased to host the New England Association for Conflict Resolution 2015 Fall Program: Identity, Culture and Conflict Resolution   Wednesday, October 21, 2015 UPDATED Schedule Registration –  6:30 – 7:15 pm NE-ACR Fall Program – 7:15 pm to 9:20 pm Location:   Austin Hall North, Harvard Law School Free and open to the public.

Pre-registration encouraged, … Read Identity, Culture and Conflict Resolution

Pull Ahead of the Pack with a “Negotiauction”

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

Robert Barnett, a corporate attorney based in Washington, D.C., moonlights as a book agent for celebrity politicians—including Barack Obama, Laura Bush, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. New York editors line up to sign Barnett’s clients and, they hope, rake in blockbuster profits. Barnett’s technique is to introduce his latest superstar to the major publishing houses and … Read Pull Ahead of the Pack with a “Negotiauction”

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School: Three Decades of Scholarship and Practice

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Founded in 1983, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is a pioneer in the fields of negotiation, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution. In commemoration of the program’s 30th anniversary this year, the Program on Negotiation is proud to present a video describing many of PON’s various educational and research activities. According to Chair Robert Mnookin, … Read More

Video: Moving beyond barriers with Eileen Babbitt

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills, Videos.

In this video, Eileen Babbitt, Director of the International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, outlines three types of obstacles that generate barriers in negotiations, and how to move beyond them. This video includes excerpts from a session taught by Dr. Babbitt at the Program on Negotiation for Senior … Read Video: Moving beyond barriers with Eileen Babbitt

Video: Overcoming Obstacles in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Daily, Resources, Videos.

Great negotiators utilize multiple strategies for dealing with obstacles and overcoming complications in negotiations. Key tactics include preparing systematically in advance, and focusing relentlessly on the interests of the other party, as well as one’s own. In this video, Professor Mandell, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, shares his thoughts on … Read Video: Overcoming Obstacles in Negotiation

Negotiation Video of Professor Lawrence Susskind Teaching Executive Education

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations, Daily, Resources, Videos.

This negotiation video is a segment taken from PON’s “Negotiation Pedagogy Series, Part 2.” MIT Professor Lawrence Susskind uses the case “Teflex Products” to teach an Executive Education Seminar on how to deal with an angry public.

To watch more PON Videos, click here. To watch PON videos on YouTube, click here. … Read More

Putting Negotiation Training to Work

Posted by & filed under Daily, Negotiation Skills.

Adapted from “Transferring Negotiation Knowledge,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter. After attending intensive executive education courses, managers typically return to the office with a sense of excitement about applying their new knowledge—only to find 200 e-mails and 25 voicemail messages waiting for them. Amid the chaos, the lessons of the past few days are forgotten. … Read Putting Negotiation Training to Work

Video of Professor Sebenius

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations, Daily, Negotiation Skills, Resources, Videos.

PON Professor James Sebenius answers these critical questions during an interview before last month’s Executive Education classes: Why is it so important for managers and business people to become skilled negotiators? Why is preparation and set up so important in negotiations? Why do you enjoy teaching students in Executive Education courses? To watch more PON Videos, click here. To watch … Read Video of Professor Sebenius

Making Time for Relationships

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations, Daily.

Adapted from “Leverage Time to Your Advantage,” by Deepak Malhotra (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter. Businesspeople often make the mistake of beginning negotiations only after an offer is on the table or after an old contract has expired. Why is this a problem? When money is at stake, it can be … Read Making Time for Relationships